Time to Kill
by A.E. Hall
Summary: Not your average WarrenOC. The third installment in my series. Lydia and the rest of the seniors at Sky High spend a very eventful spring break at the place they least expected...school. Will they be able to handle all that comes of this week?
1. Prologue

Prologue:

I was born in the year 1553, the accidental consequence of my father's seduction of Lady Elizabeth. She was a high lady of the court of England and he was Chrono, a super villain attempting to live in the past while the government searched for him in the present. A mission had gone terribly wrong and he had been separated from his partner, his twin brother who went by the alias of Secondhand. My father and his twin have the power to control time and bend it to their will; by changing events in the past they have the ability to change the present and future.

How I'm alive I'll never know. My father ended up turning in his twin in order to raise me in peace. The government once tried to persuade my father to turn back time and remove me from the fabric of the universe. He refused and they made a compromise to brainwash the people at court, including my mother. She was known ever since as the Virgin Queen, though a few people know better. Now I live in the present, though I hardly know what they'll put on my tombstone.

Despite an early childhood spent in the protection of a secret government agency and teenage years spent in hiding from my father's evil twin, I've still managed to have what most would call a normal life. Don't believe me? Besides knowing my time-traveling son, before he's been born and dating a guy I also dated in an alternate dimension, the rest of it is mundane high school drama.

Yes, I'm a senior in high school. Sky High is a private institution for future superheroes…oh and it floats in the sky. There's nothing particularly abnormal about it except for those two facts. Of course we try to kill each other in gym class and my science teacher has a head the size of a watermelon but he still gives heaps of homework like most.

I've spent the better part of my senior year doing what most seniors do, writing homework, worrying about college, hanging out with friends. Well, there was the situation with my cousin being kidnapped and tortured and the whole issue at the beginning of the school year when I was stuck in an alternate reality. My life doesn't really seem that weird until I try to explain it to other people…though obviously I don't do that much, superheroes are supposed to be covert.

For those of you who have been following my adventures so far, I can't imagine that there would be many of you, but to those of you who are: Thanks, but I feel like I have to warn you about this upcoming segment in my life. Spring Break was a turning point in my life and involved some of the worst and best moments of my time here on earth. Though my existence has never been perfect I think you might find this tale a bit darker than anything I've gone through formerly. I won't feel offended if you don't read it…the finale does not end with the words happily ever after.

That said I hope you are able to enjoy it for what it is: a part of the story telling of my struggle to survive at a place called Sky High.

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**AN: Thanks to all of you who have been looking forward to this and to those of you who were such great supporters of the last two. For those of you who have stumbled upon this randomly I'd suggest you read the first story "Time and Again" and the sequel "Time Wasted". Everything will make a lot more sense to you after reading those. **

**This story will have more romantic elements in it then the last two but as stated this part will probably be sort of darker than the others. It probably won't be too gritty until the latter half. I will never write anything beyond a T rating but I will post warnings if I think some of the content might offend someone. Nevertheless I think you all will enjoy this story greatly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Sky High but I do own Lydia, Chrono, Secondhand, Fintan, Knight, Quincy, Taylor, Shyla and all other original characters and most of the original ideas in here. I also need to make a note here to say some of the plot was inspired by Jasper Fforde's works. If you've never read anything he's written you should, he is an awesome author. His works have been the inspiration behind the writing about time and some other things.**


	2. Shakespeare and Shower Stalls

Chapter 1.

It was the night before our week of spring break was to start. I was completely ecstatic, though not for the reasons you might think. I was actually excited because at the moment I was being jostled by a crowd of smelly people listening to the words of Shakespeare being spoken by honest to goodness 16th century actors in the Globe Theatre. I could not understand much of what they said, but I knew enough to understand they were performing _A Midsummer's Night Dream_. Still, despite all this, I was in seventh heaven.

The man next to me, dressed appropriately in era-correct garb, bent down to whisper in my ear, "Methinks the bard has lost his touch."

"Be quiet Fintan," I urged as the actor on stage spoke the last words of the play. After the raucous applause and yells died down I turned back to him, "Wow that was amazing."

"I'm glad you liked it," my son replied, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, "We should probably go, I know you have a big day tomorrow."

I groaned at the recollection of the ordeal in store for the next day, "Yes, though technically you could just jump us past this week and everything would be just peachy."

"Peachy?" his brow wrinkled in consternation as we made our way to a more open space, "I think you would be surprised by how much things can change in just one week."

"Probably," I conceded as he offered me his hand. We disappeared into the usual sphere of blinding white.

"It won't be too bad," he added after we appeared in the darkened living room. His hand went immediately to his hair as if to examine for any misplaced piece of hair.

"Spring break is supposed to be a break from school," I whispered vehemently into the dark, "I can't believe that they didn't tell us before that seniors have to come in for special training instead."

"I don't think Powers has ever done it before. Your class must be the guinea pigs."

"I would think putting guinea pigs through ten hour days of training would be considered animal cruelty."

He nodded in agreement and crossed over into the dining room to gather the clothes he had left folded there. His eyes went to the small vase and the single pink rose, "A birthday present?"

"Yeah, Warren gave it to me," I was glad he had brought up the subject and not me. Whenever I spoke about my current boyfriend Fintan seemed to act terribly guarded. I was convinced that Warren was the future father of Fintan, but my son didn't want to reveal anything.

"That was nice of him," he added stiffly, "I'm going to change in the bathroom. I do not think I want to show up at the office like this."

I nodded and ran a hand through my mussed hair. I hoped that I had not caught lice from anyone in the theatre. It really had been quite dirty. I sat in one of the dining chair tables and yawned. It was only a few minutes before Fintan came back out in his customary black suit, sunglasses in the front pocket.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed that," a sudden full smile broke over his face, "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks hun," the endearment broke from my lips almost without my permission. I buried myself in an embrace to hide my embarrassment, "I guess I'll see you later."

"Maybe," he said noncommittally before disappearing into the bright light that had suddenly filled the room.

"Bye," I said softly into the peaceful shadow that remained afterwards. I knew that it had been the best birthday of my life so far and that gave me the serene sleep I needed before the next day.

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"This may very well be the most important week of your lives to this point," Principal Powers had a way of dramatizing everything so I was unsure of what to expect next, "I guarantee it will be the most exhausting," the groans began.

We were assembled in the strangely empty gym. It was just the seniors this week and the school seemed way too quiet without underclassmen scurrying around the halls. It seemed too abandoned for my taste and slightly spooky. Principal Powers was addressing us from the raised platform in the middle of the floor, while we stood around her looking unsure of ourselves. Quincy had grabbed my hand and squeezed it excitedly. I smiled back at my sidekick without much glee.

Sure, I was happy to have some extra training. Everyone knew we were sorely unprepared for the actual world of superheroes and villains. I supposed that this week would show everyone what we were really made of. Besides, it wasn't all bad. We also were going to take three field trips this week. One to Wayne University since it was closer than the prestigious Moran University in the UK, one to Xavier's school for the Gifted and another one that was undisclosed at the moment.

My dad had to sign the forms for Knight and me, but he kept tight-lipped about the secret destination for the last field trip. None of the other students seemed to know either.

"Warren," I whispered suddenly to the tall pyro standing beside me, "did your mom tell you where we're going for the third field trip?"

He quirked his eyebrow, "No…" and my hopes were dashed. I'd already asked everyone else. My thoughts were interrupted by Principal Powers' speech.

"Tomorrow will be our trip to Wayne University in Gotham City. Today however will be strictly focused on intense physical training sessions with Coach Boomer and our gracious guest-lecturer the Commander," the said superhero entered in frighteningly short gym shorts and a nondescript blue t-shirt. Will looked at the ground in embarrassment when his father beamed in his direction. Magenta just stood, head tilted, staring at Mr. Stronghold's extremely hairy bare legs.

"We will also begin advanced mental defense courses and longer sessions with your advisors. You will attend these sessions with your hero support partner, though the physical workout sessions will be attended by the class as a whole. I hope I have made this as simple as possible," the sentiment was overridden by the fact that she didn't stop for questions, "Good luck in the coming week. Comets away!"

With that she disappeared from the room in the form of spheres of sparkling light. Since we were seniors, most of us now failed to be impressed by the usual display of power from the principal. However, when Coach Boomer began speaking, we did all flinch at the blast that hit our eardrums.

"Alright everyone, I want everyone quick-changed and standing with their sidekicks…"

"Hero Support," Layla muttered forcefully from behind me.

Within a couple of minutes we all stood before the two men dressed in our usual gym outfits. Coach Boomer still berated us on our slow speeds. I guessed it was probably because the Commander was there watching every move he made. The two seemed to have an uneasy tension between them. I think we were all relieved when Coach Boomer split us up into two groups. Of course, I couldn't really decide which was worse…hours stuck with hairy-legs or hours spent with unusually tight socks and a loud voice.

Quincy and I were assigned to the Commander. We tried to remember not to call him Mr. Stronghold but all the while I wondered if it really mattered. I mean, people knew Will's last name and they knew that the Commander was his dad, so…I had little time to think about it because the Commander started barking out orders. Quincy and I stood together trying to stretch and loosen our muscles.

By the end of our two hour session almost everyone was incapacitated and Boomer seemed to be going hoarse. It had all started with the Commander yelling above the Coach when he got a bit loud. The next thing we knew the two were having an unofficial shouting contest with our eardrums caught in the middle. Needless to say, when we were dismissed no one stuck around to get an autograph.

All twenty of us made our way to the shower rooms, some half-limping. Coach Boomer and the Commander were yelling comments after us trying to outdo each other as they alternately complimented and critiqued.

"Stronghold keep your back straight," Boomer boomed after the retreating Will.

"Good work on those force fields Taylor!" the Commander used our first names to separate himself from the Coach.

The door to the girl's locker room shut and the sound of their contesting voices were thankfully blocked out. I leaned over the sink for a moment hoping that the room would stop spinning soon. Magenta slapped me good-naturedly on the shoulder and I recoiled with a yelp. The shape-shifter winked at me with a laugh before pulling a curtain for a shower stall open.

Being in the locker room with several worn-out and often times moody girls was always an interesting experience. Almost everyone had several conversations going as they scrubbed in the separate shower stalls. It always got a bit embarrassing when you were trying to gossip about someone with your friends and it turned out that the person was in the stall next to you listening to every word. With all the senior girls in one room the conversation immediately turned to the one safe topic: boys.

I got out dripping, having unsuccessfully tried to keep my clothes dry while changing in the wet and restricting stall. Michelle Zap was using one of the only two mirrors to finish attending to her platinum blonde mohawk. Layla scooted over so that I could share the other which she was stationed in front of. It always amazed me that Layla could be in and out of the shower so quickly especially since she had at least twice as long hair as I did.

"Yeah but Taylor, Warren and Zeke are just about the only guys that look good in those outfits," Michelle crowed over our heads to her friend still in the shower.

Layla and I both rolled our eyes simultaneously in the mirror. Our group was never much for gawking over the guys. Personally, I though we were much more mature than most of the girls in our class. Magenta appeared from behind us, in the process of securing her dark hair with a chopstick. She made goofy faces at her reflection as the girls shouted back and forth at each other from different sides of the room.

"You better get over it Chelle," the answer came from the shower stall, "because they all have girlfriends."

"Even the pyro?" Michelle asked mournfully as she worked the hair cement in.

"That's what I heard," Quincy said in a sing-song voice as she joined us with a conspiratorial grin on her face. It had become something of a game to tease these hormone-driven girls. The space around the mirror was getting rather crowded so I backed away and stood leaning against the white wall, waiting for the others to finish so we could get out of this steaming house of pheromones.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it Chelle," Maj jumped in, Michelle was on the top of her least-liked list ever since the shapeshifter had sent her flying by a roundhouse kick in a game of save-the citizen. Since Michelle traveled through technology like telephones or tvs save-the-citizen never brought out her strengths, "I mean it's probably just some freshmen sidekick," she turned and poked me in the arm with a joking laugh.

"Or one of those stupid non-English speaking Chinese girls from where he works…the whole language barrier might break them up pretty quick," Michelle's laugh was loud and high-pitched. She pulled the sides of her face taut apparently trying to imitate said girls.

Magenta, Quincy, Layla and I all froze at the comment. I could see Magenta's fist clenching and unclenching as if she was fighting the urge to deck Michelle right then and there. Magenta's mother had Chinese heritage and if there was one thing Maj took seriously it was her family.

Layla turned, probably wanting to say it was all a mistake, insensitive but just a mistake. However, the look in Michelle's blue-green eyes as she turned to us could not be identified as anything but pure spite.

"Maj," Layla started warningly, her hand going to her friend's shoulder, she looked at me perhaps hoping I'd pause time.

The shape-shifter's almond eyes narrowed and her small fist went crashing up into Michelle's chin. Great, I thought to myself as the two went at it, just what we needed: a chick fight in the locker room on the first day of Spring Break. The only realization that made it worse was the fact that all of us would be together ten hours a day for the rest of the week. I almost laughed.

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**AN: Some people have pointed out that this situation at the end seems far too much like other stories where girls are constantly fighting. The reality is I needed some kind of filler situation and this came to mind. They aren't fighting over boys, Magenta is angry because of a racist comment. It doesn't seem too ridiculous to me that she would punch someone, after all she does seem like a spitfire to me. I have however edited some things to make it more clear why Maj would do such a thing.**


	3. Wayne University

Chapter 2.

I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail, and promptly most of the strands fell out of it, still too short to do anything but be ornery. I struggled to make my eyes open. They refused and I growled incoherently. A blast of music from Knight's room made me squint at the bathroom mirror; apparently his alarm had just gone off. The amount of time it took me to be ready in comparison to my cousin was both disturbing and disheartening. Of course, with his hair still very short there wasn't much he had to do. The shorn hair was a constant reminder to me of how close I'd been to losing him forever.

It was so strange trying to join our everyday lives with those we would lead as heroes.

There was a knock at the door two seconds later and I unlocked the bathroom door to allow him entrance. To my surprise, Taylor stood there instead. My dark eyes finally opened halfway. He pushed past me and shut the door that separated the sink and mirror from the shower and toilet. The sound of the showerhead running began a minute afterwards. I didn't even try to figure out why he was at our house instead of his mom's. I knew my dad and Shyla were taking a short trip and had left last night but I didn't know that Taylor had stayed the night here. I wondered with a grin if the loner was finally becoming accustomed to our company.

I went to the kitchen after giving up on applying any makeup and began brewing coffee. I switched on the stovetop to warm the water for Knight's customary cup of tea as well. He swore by the stuff but I couldn't bring myself to drink it, no matter what the health benefits. With a sigh I raised my arms over my head, ignoring the protestations of every muscle. It was still dark outside and the time on the clock did not help my exhausted state. It was sheer madness to expect the seniors to survive a week of this.

I yelped loudly as Knight walked past, poking me in the ribs as he did so, "Good morning!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

"You're insane," I answered simply, eyes fixed on the full mark of the coffee pot, "If you talk like that to Principal Powers this early in the morning she's going to think that waking us up this early is actually ok."

He shrugged and then did a double-take, looking me up and down, "Uh Lydia, you do know that we are supposed to dress formally today right? We're going to Wayne University and they're not exactly relaxed when it comes to clothes."

"Huh?" I said, my brain still sleeping. I looked down at my jeans and long sleeve shirt, "Oh."

"Hurry up," Taylor said hoarsely as he came into the kitchen, blond hair dripping still from the shower, "We have to leave in ten minutes and skirts don't exactly go with hairy legs."

Knight started laughing for a moment and then grew somber under my glaring gaze. I turned and stalked out of the kitchen as Taylor poured himself the first cup of coffee out of the pot. He insulted me and then stole the first warm mug of French vanilla flavored caffeine. I wondered if there was any way to make sure he didn't move in with us when Shyla and my dad finally got married. My eyes narrowed in glee at the thought. The evil plotting side of me always came out when I was tired, but usually only as a joke. After all, I knew it was nice for Knight to have another guy his age around; especially after all that had happened to him before Christmas break.

I changed quickly into a pair of plaid dress pants and changed my red long-sleeve shirt for a plain black one. If that wasn't formal enough, I really could have cared less. I grabbed my hourglass charm choker off the nightstand and hurried down the hall while tying it at the back of my neck.

We boarded the bus just as the sun was rising. Taylor, ears jammed with his ear buds, stalked to the back of the vehicle, taking on the loner persona once more. Quincy was already sitting back there, green eyes following his progress. I slumped into one of the middle seats next to Warren my hands wrapped around a small thermos of coffee. I comforted myself by thinking that it wasn't nearly as big as Magenta's. Warren adjusted his position subtly to put his arm on the back of the seat. Neither of us were morning people, so we rarely talked this early in the day.

Michelle Zap boarded at the next stop, her right eye and chin covered in a dark blue bruise. I laughed into my sleeve and watched her and Magenta eye each other like cats. No one in the administration had found out anything about the fight yesterday, but the tension was still there. Perhaps, I thought, handing my coffee to Warren's requesting hand; today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

"Warren," Knight poked the pyro's shoulder from the seat behind us, "Are you as excited as I am?"

Warren brushed his hair out of his face and turned back to look at my cousin and his assigned sidekick. They gave each other a knowing smile.

"Excited about what?" I asked confused and still slightly incoherent.

Knight's knuckles grew white as they gripped harder on the seat, "About what? Lydia we're going to Wayne University today!"

"So…"

"Wayne University Lydia…as in Bruce Wayne's university for superheroes," Knight rolled his eyes.

"Bruce Wayne?" I scrunched my nose, "As in _the _Bruce Wayne?"

Knight seemed to shiver with fanboy excitement. Heck he'd been reading the comics since birth practically, I guess I couldn't blame him, "Yup," he finally answered glancing at Warren again, his fellow comic book fan, "We might even get to meet Batman."

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"Wow," Knight's jaw dropped.

"Yeah," I replied drawing my arms around myself with a slight shiver, "I knew Gotham is supposed to be dark and…spooky but isn't this a bit much?"

"Actually this isn't even Gotham, the University is located outside of the city in a less industrialized suburb of sorts."

"Knight?"

"Yeah?"

"You can tone down the geekiness just a bit. I mean I like to hear about all of this, but you have been talking non-stop for about two hours."

My cousin's cheeks took on a bit of pink, "Sure…I'll try to control myself."

I smiled back and shook my head with a laugh. Warren and several of the other students were just standing, staring at the imposing building in front of us. It looked a bit like some kind of European cathedral to me. The sky above was a darkening shade of gray and it just added to the affect. I wondered if they ever had sunny days near Gotham. Principal Powers disembarked the bus looking a bit shaky. I wondered how long it had been since she had been on one of those.

Smoothing her off-white skirt she came to the front and turned to face us all, "This is Wayne University."

"Darn it all, I thought we were going to the pet shop," Magenta muttered.

"Thank you all for coming appropriately dressed," I smirked, all the boys were wearing collared shirts and looking very uncomfortable, "I know you will all act maturely and treat this as a great opportunity. Remember to be respectful and to stay with the group," she sighed, probably wondering if she had forgotten anything, "Well, follow me!"

I reached for Warren's hand and was surprised when he shrugged of the motion. Something was obviously wrong, but right now wouldn't be the place or time to talk about it. Dating someone who was extremely introverted was at times frustrating and at others befuddling. I was getting better about reading the signs though, something was bothering him and he didn't want to talk about it. That was fine with me, getting into any kind of argument today wasn't exactly on my to-do list.

We walked up the broad set of stone stairs. I tried not to look intimidated by the gargoyles that were staring us down. Knight was imparting details about the founding of the college to Magenta. I was surprised to see she actually looked interested. I couldn't say the same for Zach who was dawdling behind transfixed by the guardian statues. He was easily distracted but I worried that Magenta's growing relationship with Knight might start to turn into something else if they weren't careful. I pushed the thoughts away, knowing that I didn't have to be the one to solve all the problems. My dad always told me that was my biggest fault.

Everyone entered the entrance hall with hushed voices. The broad marble floors ran on ahead of us for some ways though the continuity was broken up slightly by small groups of chairs set up in study nooks. The walls stretched upwards nearly four stories and upheld a beautiful curved ceiling made of dark wood with large triangular skylights. They provided more lighting than I would have thought possible with the gloomy weather outside. The sides of the walls were not continuous; on each story a cat walk surrounded the entrance hall. Some students were walking to and from classes. Very few stopped to look at the group of us below them.

There was a distinct tap of shoes on the ground as an older-looking man walked towards us a composed smile growing on his features. Knight craned his neck to see past taller seniors and finally pushed his way towards the front to see who it was. I remained where I was and saw only the top of his head when he finally stopped before us. Even though I was not experienced with trivia on the Dark Knight I knew instantly who this man was when he began to speak. The English accent was a dead giveaway.

"Welcome Ms. Powers, it has been a long time," the boys in front chuckled as he kissed our principal's proffered hand, "And you all must be the senior class from Sky High. I am Alfred Pennyworth, dean of Wayne University. Mr. Wayne could not be here himself…rarely can, but I will be happy to show you around the school. Ms. Powers has told us that there are several of you who are considering continuing your education at our establishment."

Most of the girls might have wished that Mr. Wayne was available for all ogling purposes, but most were quickly charmed by Mr. Pennyworth's clipped accent and gentlemanly manners. In three hours we saw most of the campus and were prevailed upon to take applications with us.

"No thank you, I already have one at home," I said trying to decline gracefully.

"Indeed?" Dean Pennyworth didn't seem to believe me.

"Yes, my stepmo…I mean my dad's fiancé gave me an application. Shyla Mercury."

"Well that is extraordinary," he smiled broadly as others took the papers from him, "I am actually…or rather was, a great friend of Ms. Mercury's father. I suppose she's grown up a great deal since then…and engaged? Well that is extraordinary. I cannot believe how quickly everyone seems to be growing up these days," he turned, but not before pushing another application into my hands.

I smiled back, unsure of how to respond to the comment. I knew that Shyla had graduated from Wayne University some time back. Though Bruce Wayne had not become Batman until after her graduation, the university had been established long before by another superhero who then handed the reins over to the Wayne family once his career had taken its toll on his health. I forgot who the original founder was, but Knight surely knew.

Michelle Zap growled as she passed us in order to get an application.

"My…my dear," I heard Alfred begin, "That is quite the battle wound."

I tried not to laugh but it was even more difficult when Michelle turned from him fuming. Here eyes searched the crowd for Magenta and I hoped that they had the good sense at least not to brawl right here. I couldn't imagine Principal Powers trying to explain away that little faux pas.

"Warren," I started approaching his casual position next to a pillar, "Do you want this application? I have one at home but Mr. Pennyworth gave me another anyway."

"No, not really," his voice was terse.

"Alright," I leaned against the pillar wondering if I would have to play detective to figure out what was bothering him. He probably wasn't just going to come out and say it.

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**AN: This chapter's last sentence has been edited to make it less confusing. I had forgotten about uploading the edit for a while but it's finally up. Thanks to everyone for the reviews. **

**Also, obviously I don't own anything Batman related, but the idea of Wayne University is in essence my idea.**


	4. Revealed

Chapter 3.

The only thing worse then coming home with two broken fingers is coming home with two broken fingers and finding out that your father has eloped with his girlfriend. That's right, perhaps the hardest week of our lives according to Principal Powers and my dad and Shyla decided to get married. It all made perfect sense to them. After all, they argued, this way it wasn't a big strain on everyone. I just rolled my eyes and began throwing away all the bridal magazines that had mysteriously begun collecting in my room.

"Does that hurt?" Layla asked from her position on my bed, looking pointedly at the fingers on my left hand.

"Yeah," I answered bluntly, stuffing another magazine into my trash can. The picture of the dress on the front made my chest constrict. I'd never thought of myself as a "girly-girl" but I had been honestly excited about the prospect of planning everything for the wedding. I think deep down, I'd thought it would be a way to bond with Shyla over something more feminine than my affinity for basketball.

"I don't think they meant to hurt you Lydia," Layla began, tugging at her braid nervously, "They just wanted to get the craziness out of the way. I mean three teenage superheroes graduating high school at the same time is probably going to be pretty out of control anyway."

"I know," I consented and flopped on top of my gray covers beside the chlorokinetic girl. It was amazing to me that we were even sitting here, talking like this. When I had first met Layla I would have never suspected that we would ever be friends. She seemed so self-righteous and smiley. I had begun to realize that wasn't who she really was. In truth she was one of the nicest people I'd ever met and held sincere passion for everything and everyone she held dear.

"So, I know Coach Boomer broke them, but how exactly did that happen?"

"It was in the one on one session and I was winning a lot because all I had to do was freeze time and run to the other side. I mean I don't have the best power in the world but you'd think he'd come up with something more creative than sticking two students in the middle of the gym and telling them to run to the opposite side without getting hurt by their opponent."

Layla nodded, "So you were doing the session with Coach Boomer?"

"Yeah, Mr. Stronghold tried and couldn't stop me so Coach Boomer started making fun of him with little comments and finally came down to try himself. I guess he and Mr. Medulla had been plotting because Boomer had taken some type of substance that gave him super-speed. When I paused time he was traveling at about a normal sprinting pace. I took off towards the wall and he ran after."

"I wouldn't think Boomer would be faster than you," Layla said turning over on her back.

"He used his Sonic Boom to knock me off my feet and then tackled me before I could touch the wall."

"Ick, broken fingers and sweaty Boomer."

I laughed, "Pretty much. He was so happy to have upped the Commander that Warren had to help me get to the nurse. There was nothing really wrong except for the fingers. I guess I had them in an awkward position. Principal Powers yelled at Boomer and Medulla for even thinking of using something like that at school and equated it to steroids so the Commander was pretty happy."

"He has quite the ego," Layla conceded pursing her lips as she was apt to when thinking, "But he's a great dad."

"And a great dad-in-law?" I asked coyly. The redhead grabbed one of my pillows and hit me playfully, "Ow, remember I'm an invalid."

"He's a nice guy and Will is great…I just can't think about anything like that right now. We're still in high school! Besides, things are already weird with this whole spring break thing and Warren being moody and…"

"You noticed Warren too huh?" I asked slightly jealous. It was obvious that Layla was the glue holding the group together but sometimes I wished I knew Warren just a little bit better than her. I could tell that they were really close.

"Well the whole brooding, rude comments thing usually clues me in. I can't imagine dating him, I mean don't get me wrong he's great and really, really good-looking and caring and protective and…" Layla had a tendency to ramble, "But, don't worry about it, I'm sure it will blow over, besides you can always ask him tonight right?"

"Tonight," I paused thinking about actually trying to dress nice and go out in public after a day like this, "Right…tonight."

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I almost thought that Warren might be in a bad enough mood to just stand me up. It had never happened before, so I'm not sure why I thought he would. I suppose it was just one of those moments when I thought things were finally going to go back to normal, he'd hate me again with no explanation and we'd be back to where we had been. I didn't hope for it, but expected it to happen sometime nonetheless. Even with the semi-guarantee of Fintan and his supposed parentage, I was still nervous about the idea of a serious relationship.

I almost smacked myself, we were still in high school; should I even be expecting something close to a "serious" relationship? I just expected too much from these things.

I groaned and looked at my watch again, "Waiting for someone?" I turned and narrowed my eyes. First I was standing in the middle of the mall, looking absolutely ridiculous while I waited for Warren. Now, some guy who I didn't know was attempting to talk to me. I really wasn't in the mood today.

"Yes," I tried to sound nice. The guy, who looked to be about ten years older than me, stepped closer with a friendly smile. My skin crawled but I didn't move. Despite all paranoid apprehensions I had, we were in the middle of a crowded food court. Besides that I didn't really have much experience with rejecting pick-up lines…in all honesty I'd never been that attractive. It had only been in the last year that any guys had even shown any interest in me. In the deep recesses of my mind, I half-believed that the only reason Warren was attracted to me was because of fate.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound weird," his eyes were dark blue, a color that seemed slightly unnatural with his tan skin. He ran a hand through his short black hair, "It's just that you look kind of familiar, I thought maybe we've met before."

"I don't think so."

"I could have sworn…Ah well," he held his hand out, "My name is Fletcher," he stopped suddenly.

"Peace," Warren finished the introduction and placed a hand on my elbow, "What are you doing here Fletcher?"

"Don't get so possessive Warren, now that I know," he looked at me expecting a name but I just stared back, there was a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, "now that I know she's your property I'll stay away."

I tightened my jaw at the idea of being anybody's "property" but didn't say anything. He seemed just to be trying to get a rise out of Warren. I looked back and forth between them as they stared in silence. They had very similar looking noses. Fletcher broke the contest first and smiled at me before turning swiftly on his foot and disappearing into the crowd. I only noticed then how he was dressed in all black.

"Warren what was that?"

The pyro looked down at me and then around the crowded area, jaw working as he thought something through, "That was my cousin," he said raising his eyebrows. Then in that typical way, with the words sounding like they didn't want to come out at all, "What were you doing talking to him anyway?"

"I was waiting for you and he just came up to me…"

"And you decided that it'd be wise to start flirting with a complete stranger?"

"Warren, I wasn't flirting with him," I paused trying not to get angry, "Are you going to tell me why you are so angry about seeing your cousin, from your mother's side no less?"

A grim smile overtook his face, "Because the Peace side of my family is the shady side, because Fletcher is a part of a crime organization…" he let go of my elbow and smoothed his hair a movement I usually associated with him attempting to be calm.

"And the reason you didn't warn me about talking to people who might be from this mysterious mob side of your family?"

"They're not the mob," he answered sullenly, "Half the members aren't family they just…it's not like you've been completely open about your family life either."

"Like what?"

"Well let's see, who your mother is, why Knight lives with you guys, why the government is paying your tuition…"

I sighed deeply, "Looks like we need to talk."

"Fletcher Peace is my uncle's son and one of the agents in the Ministry of Elements," Warren began once we were seated in the back storage room of my work. Mr. Jacobs wasn't around and Speed had just eyed us lazily when we had come in, probably hoping that Warren wouldn't recognize him.

"Ministry of Elements?"

"It's a crime syndicate run mostly by my great uncle," he sighed, "I don't think I should tell you very much. These guys aren't playing at being villains like most of the guys who dress up in spandex…"

"I guess I just assumed that since your dad was in jail that his side of the family would be the villains."

"Yeah well, that's what most people think, but I can tell you this, the name Peace gets a lot more respect then Battle does among criminals. Sometimes I wish I would have taken his name instead."

I was slightly amazed that we were sitting here, talking about his father with such ease. I knew that Warren had changed a lot since the days when he and Will had been enemies but it was still hard for me to grasp. I hadn't been there to see the famed cafeteria fight but I had been around long enough to know that Warren's nickname wasn't hothead for nothing.

"So," I jumped down from my seat on a table, "this doesn't explain why you were so cranky today."

"I've just been preoccupied," he glared as Darren entered with a box of books.

"I don't want to interrupt anything," his jovial voice was as annoying as the knowing look he was giving us, "But the store room isn't exactly meant for any clandestine meetings especially ones involving crime rings," his laugh was cut short by Warren suddenly standing.

"Were you listening the whole time?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he smiled broadly, "But don't sweat it Peace we've all got secrets right? I mean it's not as if you haven't told your best bud Stronghold about the whole criminal relatives thing right?"

"And if those secrets happen to get told," I ventured, "We'd all find ourselves in a big mess," I grabbed Warren's hand wincing at the sudden heat, and the pressure on my splinted fingers, "So Darren, you might want to keep your mouth closed," I pulled Warren after me and out the door hoping the store wouldn't go up in a blaze of glory before we could make our exit.

It was two and a half blocks of walking back towards where his car was parked before he was able to speak without his voice shaking. His hand was much cooler now and I took that as a good sign. Darren was a total idiot, but after the incident with his cousin, a complete idiot was completely capable of angering Warren past the breaking point. Speed probably had his own reasons; totally evicted from both the super hero and super villain community he'd probably take chances to get any grasp of the power that had eluded him.

"So, anything you want to tell me?" Warren said finally as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Well, my mom is actually Queen Elizabeth…the dead Queen Elizabeth."

"The Virgin queen, yeah, nice one," he replied in a frustrated tone, obviously not believing me.

I sighed and leaned my head back trying to think of a way to make my assertions seem plausible. With my luck he'd never believe anything I had to tell him about my past or more specifically the past year.

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**AN: The last bit has been edited to avoid confusion. No, Warren did not believe her assertion about Queen Elizabeth being her mother. Thanks to everyone for the reviews!**


	5. Xavier's Institute

Chapter 4.

"The concept of the mind-reads is something I'm sure you are all acquainted with," Ororo Munroe was more beautiful in person than I would have ever imagined. From the way the boys were mindlessly nodding I saw that they agreed, "Today we have the equipment to imitate the natural powers bestowed to people like Professor Xavier."

I adjusted my position on the couch in the crowded class room. I could not believe that we would be spending the day, night, and next morning at this famed school. In a few minutes we would be using this advanced equipment to imitate mental takeovers. I think it would be safe to say we were all slightly nervous. Sure, we would be doing it with our fellow students, but it was a sort of contest. The people in our class who made the top five in times for takeover would have a private sit down session with Professor Xavier.

I don't think any of us expected to make it out of that meeting with our mental walls intact. We'd all taken the semester class on mental defense but this was Xavier, telepath extraordinaire. I groaned inwardly as we walked into the next classroom. This was some of the newest technology used in the industry. I mused about Fintan's comments on guinea pigs and found myself agreeing with him.

"Now," Ororo's accent made her voice sound more authoritative, "All of you will sit in one of the desks and put the corresponding headset on."

In a few moments we were all sitting still, feeling like extras stolen from a cheapo science fiction movie. I couldn't feel anything for a few moments after we'd lowered the visors and the machines had been turned on. Principal Powers stood nervously beside Mr. Medulla. Our melon-headed teacher was chatting up Ororo with undisguised fervor. I struggled to take my mind off of all these things as the simulation began.

Our teacher had often told us that mental defense wasn't as simple as it seemed in fantasy movies or comic books. If we ever came up against a powerful telepath, she had said, the best strategy would be to "run like the wind". Unfortunately, I couldn't use that bit of advice to help me as the machine began probing my defenses. I chose my favorite method and began visualizing a stage. Suddenly, I was there, standing on a stage in a crowded theater. The murmuring of the pretend people stopped as I took the microphone in my hand.

I knew that behind the red curtain was a brick wall that I had visualized into existence. _"Two components to mental defense," _Ms. Grover had intoned in her monotone lecture voice, _"Distraction and Blocking."_

With a deep breath, I began bellowing, "I'm a little teapot" into the mike with unreserved fury. The first attack, in the shape of an adoring fan struggling to get on stage, came with surprising weakness. My voice quavered and the fan suddenly had inhuman strength to push away the security guards. I blasted away in off-key intonation and began doing the movements as well. All the time my mind was only on the song and the brick wall.

I could almost feel the click as the simulation upped a notch. This time a voice began yelling from the back row of the theater, "Hey Lydia, you can't sing! And you're humming out loud too! Wonder what the rest of the class thinks of your interpretation of the melody, oh yeah," the voice was louder, "They can hear you."

My singing softened to a whisper as my uncle stepped into the spotlight. How the heck did the machine pull that out? I thought I was doing a good job of not allowing anything through the cracks. Thinking about everything else that it might be seeing made the lush theater crumble and then disappear. I found myself holding a snake which I promptly dropped with a shriek. Colors swirled around me as the simulated telepath jumped over the brick wall, now barely a foot high. I struggled to erect another, concentrating on the details, the thickness, but it was too late.

I opened my eyes and raised the visor. Six others still had their visors on but everyone else was talking quietly. I removed my head-set and glanced behind me. Warren was still deeply entrenched in the exercise his lips tight in determination. Layla sat quietly beside me with her head-set off.

"So," I said poking her in the shoulder, "Was I singing out loud this whole time?"

She laughed and flicked her ponytail back, "No, I thought I heard you humming something, but I didn't hear any singing. Course I just stopped a couple minutes ago."

"Couple minutes?" I asked confused, "How long has it been since we started?"

"Uh Ms. Munroe just said we'd reached the thirty minute mark."

"That's crazy; I thought it had only been a few seconds."

"Yeah me too," Layla paused as Will took off his headset and rubbed his eyes.

He looked frustrated but was just as amazed when we told him how long it had been. In about five minutes everyone was bested by the machines. To everyone's surprise, Zach was the top scorer with thirty-seven minutes. He exclaimed his joy with a loud whoop which Ororo simply raised her eyebrows at. I clapped along with most of the class…those that weren't disgruntled by his victory. I think most students of the hero classification were surprised that a sidekick could best them.

Zach wouldn't reveal his strategy to anyone who asked, though I'm sure he eventually gave in to Magenta's pleading stare. After a few rounds, he was still the reining champion and I had narrowly made it into the standings after Will dropped out of the running due to a bout of mental exhaustion. Zach, Malati, Warren, Michelle and I had won the right to a private session with Professor Xavier. The gift was an unwelcome one, but despite my feelings I acquiesced to be the first.

He wasn't like I had expected, or perhaps, just more than I had expected. His presence was comforting, but demanded all the respect one had to give. It took no telepathic abilities to feel those emotions. He gestured to a chair with a smile which I found myself returning. There was a gentle probing in my mind already, so gentle that I barely recognized it. I probably wouldn't have recognized it if we had not just gone through the long mental exercises for most of the morning.

"My name is Lydia Tudor."

He seemed pleased by the introduction, "Professor Xavier, at your service."

I was near right. I lasted a grand two minutes against the Professor. Zach lasted about five, proclaiming himself the reigning champion over all of the finalists. Xavier said he had never met someone like Zach in all his life and went further to say that he had the most unique thought pattern he'd seen in all his years. I thought "unique" was a tactful way to put it.

000000000

I flopped onto the assigned bed and sighed deeply. Cruel fate had assigned me to a room with Michelle Zap and Magenta. I'm not sure what kept them from wrestling on the floor but somehow they restrained their enmity to be released only through smart comments. Of course we were all so tired from the mental exercises and session in the danger room that even speaking became exhausting. After about five minutes, they were both asleep. I half-smiled and felt my way to the window.

For a terrifying moment I thought perhaps they didn't open at all but with the little strength left in my arms it moved up. I let out the breath I was holding and paused time, just in case I had to avoid anyone outside. I jumped down onto the grass and pulled the blanket I was carrying up over my shoulders. Hopefully Magenta and Michelle wouldn't notice the slight draft. Luckily, it was warm enough outside that they shouldn't.

I skirted around the outside of the building, narrowly missing running into the patrolling Wolverine. It was so strange to see all of the superheroes here in flesh and blood, especially still as statues like he was now. I remembered his penchant for scents and scampered off towards my destination like a scared rabbit. Logan had left his impression on all of us during the danger room session.

I scuttled past the brush and undergrowth in the garden and ran up the dewy steps of the closed-in gazebo. I swallowed once in the darkness, memories of childhood fears strong in the shadow. I closed my eyes and let go of time. "Warren?"

With a jump I saw a sudden flame, small and bright. I shivered involuntarily and pulled the blanket tighter, "Logan was doing some kind of patrol around the building so we shouldn't stay long."

I could almost feel Warren nod before his hand went to my elbow. We sat down on the benches, his now extinguished hands entwined with mine. I could hear him breathe deeply from above my head as I rested it between his shoulder and chin. There was a light patter from outside that I took to be a few raindrops falling. The birds and all diurnal animals, save the Wolverine of course, were deep asleep. I felt myself stifling a yawn as I too felt the lateness of hour.

"So what's going on?" I managed to say in a whisper.

He waited a few seconds, "Yesterday I told you about Fletcher and their organization…" he paused, jaw clenching uncomfortably against the top of my head, "When I went home last night my mom was still awake, reading an anonymous note from the group."

My brow furrowed and I shifted to look at him, "From the Min…"

His hand covered my mouth, "Not here, I don't know," I must have imagined his voice breaking for a brief moment, "…who's listening. It was a threat, against her, against me…"

"Why?"

"Because they need another pyrokinetic," his shoulders tensed, "They don't want my mother but they're happy to threaten us until I join."

My hand went to his face almost before I knew what I was doing, "We can fight them Warren. There has to be some way, some way to make sure you are both safe."

"My dad tried to fight. You can see where he is now," he got up suddenly, leaving me feeling cold and abandoned on the seat, "Here," Warren shoved something like a stack of paper into my hands; envelopes I realized. Then he left.

My head swam with theories but I didn't move from my seat. The cold spurred me to action in a few minutes. I was surprised to feel my hand wiping at watery eyes. When had that happened? I trotted down the stairs, starting as a voice broke the silence that had descended.

"Is he like me?" the voice was gruff.

"Yes," I turned towards Wolverine. He was standing with a thick cigar simmering between his fingers, "Sometimes he is," I smiled jokingly, "Any advice?"

Logan inhaled deeply and took one step forward before letting out a cloud of smoke, "Don't push him. You'll lose his confidence if you ask for it."

"Thanks," I waved and ran back to the waiting open window, clutching at the stack of envelopes like they were a sacred treasure.

Maj started talking nonsense in her sleep when I shut the window. Neither of them woke which I was thankful for. After I was situated in my bed with a pen flashlight I realized I could have just paused time again. Rolling my eyes, I held the end of the flashlight between my teeth and looked at the cover of the top envelope. It read, "My dearest" in a scrawling script that looked similar to Warren's handwriting.

This would be an interesting read.

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**AN: Obviously I don't own anything that is X-men but I did come up with the idea for the equipment that simulates telepathic takeovers. I'm sure someone has done something similar in the past, nonetheless this is my original idea.**

**Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews!**


	6. Pool Problems

Chapter 5.

_My dear Hana,_

_My hand is shaking as I write to you and I wonder if I should try to contact you at all. It was two months ago when we were last together but it seems like much longer. I remember…but maybe I shouldn't say anything more. It will only make me more homesick for you. _

_I thought by going away I could stop the threats, the fear…but they have found me as easily as a lost puppy. I have to do what they want Hana, it's the only way to keep you safe. Damien may be part of your family but I think you know he wouldn't hesitate to harm you. I know it sounds like I'm already spouting their rhetoric, but I can't help saying something. I can barely sleep at night thinking about what might happen to you. If I could go back in time and change what happened…_

_Of course I wouldn't trade anything for the time we've had together, for the time I've had with you and Warren. I only wish we could have escaped when it all began. It's too late for "what-ifs" now…only know that I don't blame you for any of it Hana. I know you've a nasty habit of blaming yourself for it all but if I had to do it all again I would, knowing some of those days and nights would be in your company._

_I'm giving this to a trustworthy man. He can't carry back a response in writing, though I'd almost risk it. Just tell him you are safe and that will be enough for me. Don't bother about my lovesick ramblings. Only let it be your comfort that it is your memory which affords me a few hours of sleep. I always hope to meet you in my dreams. Hug Warren tightly for me but don't worry him. Tell him that his father loves him. _

_Yours now and forever,_

_Baron Battle_

I hurried through getting ready that morning, eyes red from my late-night reading. I had only read the first three letters in the thick stack of twenty. The first was the most revealing by far. The following two had been all sentiment and ramblings, though very sweet nonetheless. In all my wildest imaginings I had not thought of this simple fact: Baron was a loving husband and father. Sometimes I thought he must have been abusive, others that he might have just been apathetic…now I knew better. I also realized that this stack of filled envelopes must be Warren's most prized possession.

And he wanted me to read them.

Magenta barely noticed my exhaustion though she did ask me the same question three times before I finally answered. Michelle had woken up early and left before either of us was ready for breakfast. I was glad of it at first, but when we went to eat my hopes were dashed. Michelle had gone off early to inform Principal Powers about the fight that had happened. Needless to say Principal Powers had not heard the whole story correctly and was standing in her usual lecturing position.

I sidled off to the side to help myself to the breakfast food laid out on the large table. There were several Sky High students already there and two of the regular students returned recently from their own Spring Break. I recognized the older boy immediately as Bobby Drake or Iceman as he was known in the comics. I wondered suddenly why they used their exact likenesses for the illustrated books…wouldn't that help those looking to destroy them in real life? The other was Kitty Pryde. I blushed nervously and sat down beside her with my bagel.

I was sitting here next to honest to goodness X-men. Fortunately, I was too tired to make a huge fool of myself. Still I wondered what it was like to be immortalized and fictionalized in comic books that were read by thousands of people. In my heart I knew I would never be that big and was sort of grateful because of it.

Principal Powers voice broke through my thoughts. She was full swing into a dramatic lecture on the impropriety of Magenta's actions. She hadn't even had a chance to speak about what really happened before the older woman was dishing out reprimands. Satisfied for the moment she stopped and let Magenta get breakfast. I raised my eyebrows as the shape-shifter's lack of response. Maybe she didn't care about detentions.

Warren entered with Will following after. His hair was in a disheveled ponytail and he looked to be as tired as I was. Both of them piled their plates with food and sat on the opposite side of the table as the two X-men. I smiled and reached for my glass. A fumble sent the juice spilling over the table for a brief moment. Bobby raised his hand and froze the liquid quickly. He shrugged at our looks, though I noticed Kitty kept eating.

"It's easier to clean up," he offered and smiled at the two boys sitting across from him. His eyes traveled down and noted Warren's fire tattoos, "Pyro?" he asked with a slightly tenser tone.

"Yup," Warren answered.

Will looked between the two anxiously. He held out his hand suddenly, jerking his head to get the loose hair out of his eyes, "Will Stronghold."

Kitty looked up, "Son of the Jetstream and Commander?"

I rolled my eyes with Maj at the line that Will had probably heard a hundred times in the last year.

"Yeah that's me," Will chuckled, easing the tension. Bobby took his hand and then held it out to Warren.

"Bobby Drake."

"Warren Peace."

"Peace?" Bobby queried removing his hand, "You don't happen to…"

"Yeah," Warren answered unsure of whether to smile or glare.

Everyone turned their attention back to their food. We would be leaving for Sky High within the hour so everyone was slightly hurried. I barely had time to squeeze Warren's hand before Magenta dragged me back to our room. I suppose it was lucky that Michelle had already packed up her bag and left. She probably didn't want to face an irate guinea pig girl. Maj could be quite scary when she wanted to be.

"So why didn't you say anything to Principal Powers?" my question was interrupted by a knock on the door. Layla entered a moment later toting her backpack.

"Like she would have believed me," Maj answered simply.

"You should ask Knight to help," Layla offered, sitting on the bed as we hurried to refill our own bags, "I mean if Principal Powers would let you he can tell if someone is telling the truth."

"That's a great idea," Maj enthused. I wasn't so sure but didn't say anything about it. Last time Knight had been called on to use his powers he'd ended up in the hospital. It wasn't exactly a winning situation to create life-long grudges while still in high school.

When we boarded the bus Magenta was already deeply involved in a conversation with Knight. Zach didn't look too put out when she didn't sit next to him. I wondered how much longer their relationship would last. Neither seemed to be as deeply infatuated as they had been before and unless I was mistaken Maj was crushing on Knight. I turned to look at them. For some reason I didn't think that my cousin felt the same way that Maj did. Of course, Knight wasn't exactly the type of person to lay all his personal feelings out. Just one more reason I would be happy to graduate, high school drama was a killer.

000000000

"You don't kill her!" The Commander shouted as I took down the simulated villain in the shape of a large dummy. I stopped immediately and dog-paddled to remain afloat in the pool.

I think it would be a lie to say none of the seniors were surprised to see a huge pool appear where the gym floor had once been. Apparently, Sky High had more equipment to use then any of us knew. Coach Boomer was so fond of Save the Citizen that we rarely did anything but that. Now with the Commander around our schedules were much more varied. I wondered what exactly the city did about giant robot problems while he was here teaching us.

"Lydia, you have to remember that as a hero your job is not to kill the villain but to deliver them to the authorities and rescue whoever they endangered."

I nodded and spluttered slightly as I was suddenly pulled under the water. Apparently the other team had taken advantage of the distraction to attack me. I tried not to panic as the hand held firmly to my ankle. I hadn't had the chance to take a deep breath before the plunge so almost immediately my lungs began aching. I paused time and reached down to my ankle. With all the chlorine it was too hard to open my eyes and see who exactly the perpetrator was. I saw a brief flash of black hair before my hand met their own. I pried at the fingers but they didn't budge.

I was panicking now. Though everyone else didn't have to worry about breathing in the frozen world I did. A pounding headache threatened to make me scream. I kept my mouth closed and began clawing at the hand. With a final tug that threatened to loose my shoulder from its socket the grip was broken. The effort left me scrambling to regain my hold on time but things began moving around me in slow motion. I kicked my legs hard trying to reach the surface and felt one foot meet the face of whoever had dragged me down in the first place. There was a sickening crunch and I winced at the muffled sound.

As soon as I emerged I began coughing and wheezing. The oxygen hurt my lungs terribly and I could barely open my eyes. I vaguely heard the Commander saying something but he didn't sound very loud or concerned. To everyone else it looked as if I had been underwater for only a few seconds. I was in no position to try and explain myself. After a minute of deep breaths I was able to look around without the world spinning.

No one else had surfaced. I remembered the kick in the face the other person had received and gasped. Without explanation I took a deep breath and dived back under, eyes wide open despite the burning. It was Basil Collins, the boy with six arms. He was unconscious and sinking fast towards the bottom of the pool. I kicked my legs hard and held my hands out in front of me with each stroke. I was forced to close my eyes but I froze time hoping to reach Basil before he hit the bottom.

My hands touched his arm and I immediately latched onto it. Adjusting his arms so they circled my neck I put all my strength into reaching the surface. I let time slip, my powers exhausted nearly to their full extent. We surfaced and his head hit mine, he was still out cold and his nose was bleeding presumably from my kick. The timer for our round was ringing and the Commander stood on the edge of the pool looking like he was about to dive in. He was beat out by his own son when Will swooped in and lifted us out and onto the ground.

I sat down gratefully, ignoring the puddle I was creating on the floor. I tried not to think about the embarrassing picture I made in my swimsuit. Will carried Basil out the doors to Nurse Spex who was in residence during our spring break for just such a contingency. I shivered involuntarily as the Commander crouched down next to me.

"Great job proving my point Lydia, you incapacitated the villain, saved him from drowning and lived to tell about it," he slapped me on the back and I nearly flew back into the pool from the force, "Good work."

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**AN: I still don't own anything X-men ;) Thanks for all the reviews!**


	7. Sticks and Stones

Chapter 6.

"I could come over there," I offered, holding the phone between my shoulder and ear as I chopped the carrots. The task was made slightly difficult by the splints on my fingers.

"No, I have to work tonight," Warren's voice was slightly muffled.

"I know, you told me that already but I mean I could come over and stay with your mom. I mean, I know you're worried about leaving her alone right now and she might want some company."

There was a pause and began throwing the carrots into the salad bowl. My dad came up behind me and gestured with his fingers. Ten minutes, he mouthed and pulled out the plates to set the table. I nodded.

"I guess that would be ok," I could tell by his tone of voice that he was trying to think of all the reasons why I shouldn't, "If you want to."

"Yes," I answered firmly, "I want to. We're eating dinner right now but I can be over in about an hour. Sound good?"

"Yeah, I'll tell her you're coming," he paused, "Thanks Lydia."

"No problem. See you later."

I put the phone back on the holder and brought the salad to the table. Shyla and my dad were already sitting there. Knight was at work and Taylor had gone out with Alyce, his bouncing ball sidekick. It was kind of weird eating with other people, especially my new stepmom. Before my uncle had been taken to prison I ate almost every meal alone. My dad was gone so often chasing down leads that we barely had time for a decent conversation. Now I suddenly had two parents.

"I'm going over to Warren's tonight, to hang out with his mom," well that sounded strange, "he's working tonight and…I thought…"

"That will be good for you to get to know his mom," Shyla said with a smile, "Maybe you could have Warren over here some time."

My dad looked up from his plate, "Yeah Lydia, we haven't really had a chance to get to know him since you two started dating."

I pushed a piece of cucumber around the edge of the plate, "Maybe. He's just…kind of anti-social most of the time, especially with adults."

"Well in less than a couple months all of you will be graduated adults. Might be time for him to move past that," Shyla volunteered.

"Well I'll let you tell him that," I said quietly.

I let the two "adults" wash the dishes and hurried to get ready to go over to Warren's house. I had finally gotten my license but since Knight had taken the car we shared, I drove my dad's truck there instead. I'd only been to his place a couple of times as we usually met somewhere else when we went out. Warren and his mom lived in a town home on the edge of the old part of town. He was able to walk to work when his mom had the car without any difficulty.

"Hello Lydia," Hana Peace greeted me and ushered me in through the cheerful green door.

Ms. Peace was a woman of forty-one years who had aged rather gracefully. There were some wrinkles around her eyes and mouth that belied her vexing past, but these days she seemed to be living up to her surname. From what I had gathered from Warren she was of mixed Asian, Hispanic, Native American and English heritage. He could boast of heritage from even more countries with the German and Scottish blood from his dad's side. All in all, it made my ancestry look pretty boring.

We walked down the narrow hallway, lined with framed pictures and Chinese calligraphy. I had been told once that there had been several pictures of a much younger Warren there as well at one point. Of course I couldn't imagine that he'd ever willingly let me see any of those.

"Lydia, do you want to see some old pictures of Warren?" Ms. Peace asked as we sat down in the small living room.

I nodded with a slight laugh. If I hadn't known that Ms. Peace's only power was over fire like her son I would have suspected mind-reading as a second. Of course, the comment could probably be attributed to great perceptiveness. I sat in the room twiddling my thumbs while Hana was gone. It still felt strange to be sitting here in Warren's house without him around. The idea of Warren standing here in the cozy room painted in shades of light green and blue was almost enough to make me laugh out loud.

"Something amusing?" Hana's voice startled me as she walked back in with three large photo albums in her hands. I rubbed my shin which I'd inadvertently smashed against the coffee table and nodded.

"I was just thinking about Warren."

Her look softened slightly, "Well I'm glad that makes you smile," she sat down in the loveseat next to me, "I know he probably isn't very good about saying anything but he likes you," she paused dark eyes twinkling, "A lot."

I blushed and took one of the photo albums from her, "I know…but it's good to hear it once in a while."

She smiled and turned the cover of the book in my hands, "This is the oldest one I have. There's me when I was pregnant with Warren. And this one is from the hospital…that's Baron holding him for the first time."

I peered closer at the face. He was staring through the camera right at me. He did look like Warren if one ignored the wild hair and the slightly pudgy cheeks. Even without meeting him I could tell that he seemed kind and even playful. How had someone like this turned into a tool of the Ministry of Elements. From the letters it was obvious that his service was given unwillingly in some attempt to keep Hana and Warren safe. Other than that the specifics of the situation were still fuzzy.

Hana turned the page quickly and we quickly went through a mini-timeline of sorts of Warren's life. He had been a cute kid with a wide smile that now seemed to be reserved only for special moments. The pictures of Warren's twelfth birthday and onwards seemed to be the point at which all of Baron's presence disappeared. That matched up with information I'd gleaned from the letters and Warren's scant comments on the subject. It was also about the time the smiles disappeared. Some might attribute that to puberty, but these pictures just made it clear to me that Baron's absence had affected him deeply.

"I couldn't control him," Hana said softly, "Baron," her voice seemed to embrace the name, "kept our tempers under control. He was the glue and things came quite undone when he…left."

I kept my mouth shut, even though I wanted to ask more questions. I wanted to know if she had seen him since his imprisonment the summer before Warren's ninth grade year. I wanted to know if she was there…what had actually happened, did she hate the Commander or rather did she hate the rest of her family involved in villainy? These all ran through my head to such an extent that I didn't hear Hana as she spoke in a high, urgent tone.

"What?"

"Your car," she whispered this time and a loud screech of tires came through the open window.

I hurried over ignoring Hana's protestations. Looking back at her face I saw suddenly how frightened she was. How could I blame her? I turned back towards the window and pulled open the nondescript gauzy curtains just in time to see the truck turn a corner and careen senselessly down the next road. I sighed thoughtfully thinking it had been simply a strange car theft. Something moved near the door of the adjoining townhouse just as Hana was walking over to see for herself.

"Move back," I hissed pushing her roughly to the side, "He was looking in at us," I whispered being careful not to edge in front of the window.

I saw the brick flying through the air but could do nothing to stop it. I might have paused time and gone out to remove it from its flight but that would just lead to another brick thrown or something worse. Hana, who had not been happy about my rough push, was even less happy with the shove I gave her now in an attempt to protect her from the shattering glass that would likely occur. The sound wasn't as loud as I expected but I still flinched involuntarily. The offending item stopped on the carpet, a piece of string and attached note conspicuous against the shade of burnt red.

I looked back out the window as Hana bent down to pick it up. Whoever had thrown it was gone now. The darkly clad man had disappeared as if he had never been there in the first place. A shiver coursed through my body as I turned back towards Ms. Peace. She held the note in one hand, eyes reading the simple typed words over and over again. Suddenly, both the piece of white paper and the attached twine were consumed in a small, powerful flame. Ash replaced the message in a matter of seconds.

"What did it…" I started to ask but Ms. Peace clenched her hand around the black remains and shook her head.

She stayed almost completely silent the rest of the time I was there. The only time she spoke was to say no to my offer of calling Warren and telling him what happened. I wasn't anticipating his reaction to the news but I felt it was only right to stay here until he got home from his shift. I couldn't abandon Hana in this state, though personally I thought it seemed that I was more shook up about the incident than her. Of course, she'd seen it all happen before. She knew the sequence of events that would follow better than anyone.

I was taping a large piece of poster board over the window when Warren finally came home. Other than the strange replacement for glass, there was no evidence of what had happened. It seemed however that he knew immediately. Within seconds he had crossed over to his mother and taken her hands in his. I watched them for those few silent moments. If the situation hadn't been so serious I might have smiled to see them communicate so clearly without any words. They were so similar that words really weren't necessary.

I was the only one who jumped when the phone rang. By the look on Warren's face as he picked it up I could tell exactly who was on the other line. If it wasn't his cousin Fletcher it was someone equally odious.

"Yes," he said shortly crossing his free arm over his abdomen. His dark eyes flicked over his mother and then over me. Jaw clenching he said no more but slammed the phone on the holder a minute later.

"I wouldn't expect to see your truck back anytime soon Lydia," he finally said, then gesturing for me to follow he walked out of the room towards the front door.

I followed, eyes glued to the steady motion of his back as he walked, "I'll walk you back to the Paper Lantern. Knight's still there and I'm sure he can take you home after his shift."

I didn't ask why he couldn't take me home himself, though I was sure it had something to do with what had been said on the phone, "Warren," I ventured before he opened the front door. He turned back to me with an expectant look. I wished I could read his mind to see if the next words would be welcome, "I don't want to be used like this," my voice was shaking.

He looked as if he was going to turn away but I moved closer both hands holding on to the collar of his leather jacket. His dark hair fell in front of his face as he leaned his head down to look me in the eyes. The soft curtain brushing against my face and his eyes smoldering behind it, quieted my voice to a whisper.

"I won't be used as a pawn Warren. I take my own risks, so don't let them make you do anything because of me."

With sudden movement I was engulfed in a tight embrace. I ignored the discomfort of the tight squeeze and burrowed my head in his chest as his hand ruffled my short hair.

"I won't," came his muffled reply. Somehow the tone of his voice made me worried.

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**AN: Dun, dun, dun... Yes I've finally updated. All thanks for that should go to I.I.M.N. who reminded me that this story did exist whether I had tons of homework or not. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave me some feedback for it! I have replied to every single review given to this story but have been informed there was some sort of fanfic glitch going on...so if you didn't recieve my reply I'm so sorry. I really do appreciate each and every one.**

**I.I.M.N: Now you have me all curious as to what the initials stand for. I really appreciate your review and blatant honesty about your opinion of the story. Some of the things you mentioned have been edited, other people have mentioned some things that confused them and I tried to edit them to make more sense. However, I will not be rewriting this whole story, I enjoy how it is coming together and frankly I don't have the time to go back and rewrite the whole entire thing. I'm sorry you feel this story is mediocre but there is only one "chick fight" and I thought it was pretty low-key. Basically, I needed a filler bit for that chapter and the idea came to me. They aren't fighting over boys, Maj was angry because of a racist comment directed at her. Magenta strikes me as the type of person who would deck someone for saying something like that. This of course is my interpretation of her character and you may not agree with me. Those confusing bits have been edited for clarification, thanks for bringing them to my attention. **


	8. Alter Ego

Chapter 7.

_Hana,_

_I only have a few moments to write this note to you. Our usual contact only has a brief chance to take out the message so I am writing as hurriedly as possible. How can I fit all I want to say in this short space? You are what keeps me going, what keeps me moving forward. Without you or Warren I have no reason to keep going. _

_I cannot stand staring into their faces every day. Listening to their plans, knowing that everything I am doing is wrong…everything I'm doing is shameful. It's almost more than I can stand. Sometimes I think I'll either die or go mad from the constant steady flow of evil that is being forcibly poured into my system. _

_They're in the middle of planning an onslaught unlike anything we've ever seen. I fear it will be the end for me. If not by death, then surely by imprisonment. If I don't write you again suspect the worse. I'm sure my capture will be broadcasted in the newspapers. I almost welcome the day Hana because it will mean that they have no way to use me. I only hope I have the strength to face a life alone…_

_My time is up. Don't give up…tell Warren I love him. _

_All my love,_

_Baron_

This note lacked the almost elegant quality of the last fifteen, but he had been in a hurry. I sighed and rolled out of my bed. I placed the letter back in its envelope and put it back in the stack. I only had four more and I wished that I could sit here, skip school and read the rest. The only thing that kept me from doing just that was the fact that today was the field trip that had been kept so secret. Groaning with frustration I got ready.

It seemed so strange that in five days things could change so drastically. Before this had happened I had not even wondered seriously about Warren's past. Part of me was so glad that we finally seemed to be on the right track that I didn't care. Now with the ongoing threats of the Ministry and the information from the letters, my curiosity kept growing. All of this had somehow served to mold the person he was now. It was almost like a jigsaw puzzle except with a regular jigsaw puzzle, the pieces didn't throw bricks at you.

I started laughing at the thought just as Knight knocked and opened the door. He raised one eyebrow from behind his glasses and smiled, "Finally gone crazy?"

"Finally?" I asked, "I thought that happened after that whole alternate dimension thing."

"Well, crazier…laughing by yourself isn't exactly a sign of sanity," he replied quickly, taking a seat on my disheveled bed.

"Yeah," I answered, wondering when exactly Knight would tell me what he really wanted to talk about. I ruffled a hand through my unruly mane, "So what's up?"

He almost visibly squirmed, "I want to help Magenta with this whole detention thing but I don't want her to see it as," he waved his hand, "anything more than a friendly gesture."

I stuffed my notebook into my backpack, "I understand…not much I can do if she likes you though. You'll just have to try giving her hints I suppose."

"Hints?"

"You know," I said zipping up the bag, "Talk about how you like someone else or about how great Zach is…"

Knight stood up and patted my back, "Thanks but seriously you need to work on your advice giving skills."

"You're the one who came to the girl who's had only one relationship during high school," I started to laugh when suddenly pain shot from the front of my head to the back in radiating waves.

I shut my eyes automatically and tried to breathe without gagging. A nauseous feeling remained even in the minutes after the pain faded. I took a breath shakily and opened my eyes to see Knight staring at me with a concerned look on his face. I shook my head, trying to smile and gestured to the door.

"I'm ok, we better get going."

000000000

I don't think a single one of us opted to quick-change into our hero outfits. We had all been surprised when we'd arrived at Sky High and been escorted to the gymnasium. Each of us had been given what looked like a shoebox. Inside were the superhero outfits we'd designed in our "Facades" class. I don't think a group of cowpokes in a skyscraper could have looked more confused then us at that moment. Principal Powers had stepped up to inform us that because of the special trip we'd be receiving our graduation presents early. Whispering had followed soon after, as everyone began speculating about where exactly we were going.

I gave myself a good long look in the mirror and almost laughed at the stranger who was looking back at me. If I hadn't been convinced before that my identity would be safe during my superhero work, I was now. I'd managed to tie half my short hair back somehow and the black mask that covered half of my face hooked beneath the small ponytail. I finished tightening the yellow belt at my waist and stepped out of the bathroom with my other clothes in the box. I liked the feeling of the black boots, which added an inch or two to my small stature.

Nevertheless, I didn't relish the idea of appearing amongst all the other girls in this outfit. To put it tactfully, I wasn't exactly made to fit the super-heroine stereotype. I'd managed to make it so only the upper half of my costume was made of that tight spandex-like material but that was enough to leave little of my less than perfect build to the imagination. The pants, thankfully, were baggy and comfortable. The only color was the small yellow hourglass in the middle of my chest, the yellow belt, and lines of the same color that ran vertically up the sides of the pants.

Everyone was standing in groups talking and waiting when I exited the locker room. I was one of the last to get dressed so it took several minutes before I could find some friends standing around. A couple people turned and stared as I walked by, probably trying to figure out who exactly I was. I couldn't blame them. It was especially hard to recognize anyone wearing a mask.

Will was conspicuous enough in his outfit. His was very similar to his father's save that the only white was a narrow band across his chest. The top half was a slightly darker blue and the bottom a slightly darker red. I supposed it was his way of distancing himself…if only a small way, from the reputations his parents had established. Luckily, Will wasn't the type of person to create another Mr. Boy for himself. Ethan was his sidekick but he had designed his own outfit complete with his signature colors of orange and green.

I finally pushed my way through a couple cleavage bearing girls to join the rest of the gang. Warren was, as usual, standing at the outer edge looking a bit bored. I paused a moment to admire his outfit or rather how he looked in his outfit and then mentally slapped myself for even thinking like the girls I'd just pushed aside. He turned to catch me watching and raised his eyebrow with a small grin. I was suddenly glad to have a mask to cover my chagrin.

"Don't look now," I tried to saunter over and failed miserably, "but I think those girls are staring at you."

He smiled more broadly for a second but it disappeared quickly. I didn't wonder as much now that Warren didn't feel safe feeling happy. His whole life had trained him to be that way and now it seemed like the same terrible things were happening all over again. We'd made an unspoken agreement not to say anything at school about the letters, or his father, or the Ministry. Still, the tug of curiosity was getting harder for me to ignore. I wanted to know what the note attached to the brick had said and what had been said on the phone. I knew he wouldn't tell me but I wanted to ask all the same. I wasn't naïve enough not to realize that a brick was far to cliché and mild for the Ministry. Something bigger was coming…

"This material really is quite warm," Quincy volunteered from behind me.

I turned with an amused look, noting that my sidekick's thin build was much more suited to a tight outfit than mine was. Her suit was all one piece of the same yellow color as the details of my own. Her arm braces, boots, utility belt and the small angular "s" on her chest were all black. Taylor was for once in his life, looking at her with something akin to attraction. I think she was enjoying every moment of it.

"What's the "s" for?" Warren asked.

"Shrink," Quincy answered, the flash in her eyes made more distinct by the black mask she was wearing.

He nodded. We'd all come up with our finalized superhero names a month ago, but nobody had been really forthright in broadcasting them. For one, it wasn't yet obvious if any villains were graduating in our class. For two, we were all a bit shy about sharing our decision until they would be announced at graduation. I didn't even know Warren's future alias…the more I thought about it, the more I realized I really didn't know as much about him as I thought.

I probably wouldn't have been bored just sitting there taking in the details of everyone's new look but it was soon time to get on the bus. We'd be heading to the secret destination, all dressed to impress. I half-shivered in expectation, trying to ignore the sense of dread that was steadily growing in the back of my mind. However, as I boarded the bus with the world's future superheroes, I couldn't help but feel confident that I could face far worse than whatever was coming. How little I knew.

The bus took off with its usual sickening lurch and dropped a little ways off the edge of the school before gaining altitude. Soon we were flying amidst the clouds and any hint of where we might be going was hidden in the gray expanse. The sun was rising to the right, a brilliant, living work of art, shining like it had never known any of the joy or pain each ray touched upon every day. I started to yawn, realizing how early it really was. Then as if that motion had been a secret signal the bus driver looked back at us and reached for the lever on her right.

There was a fluttering of something at each window; a glimpse of some iridescent sheen over every part of the vehicle. No one had time to react when the bus plunged suddenly below the blanket of vapor. The sun disappeared. Intense force held us all to our seats as the bus began a nosedive descent. Coach Boomer and in all honesty so was the Commander. Still the fact that they were not reacting negatively to the situation was a small comfort…if in fact anything can be a small comfort when you're crashing through the atmosphere.

I felt Warren grab my hand but I couldn't look over at him. My eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching skyscrapers.

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**AN: Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the long time between posts. It took me so long to write this chapter. I really wanted it to be written well. I really appreciate all the constructive criticism. I know when I get reviews from people who have read these stories from the beginning I can trust them. At this time it's really difficult for me to change the course of the story as I have everything planned out. I hope that things will become more clear and that I'll be able to fulfill all of your expectations. In the mean time please keep telling me what you really think of each chapter. Thanks again to all my reviewers. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your input.**


	9. Registration

Chapter 8.

My stomach had jumped into my throat as the bus began its nosedive descent. I forced my eyes towards the front again where the adults were sitting calmly. Either they had been hypnotized and we were all about to die, or this was the way to the destination. From the short length of the trip and the familiar looking buildings, it was obvious that we were going somewhere in downtown Maxville. The tops of the structures came closer with every second but the bus driver didn't budge the steering wheel a fraction. I saw her hand press one of the many buttons on the dashboard but nothing seemed to change.

_One hundred yards_, I said in my mind and counted mentally as a skyscraper loomed ahead. I squeezed my eyes shut, and gripped Warren's hand even more tightly. I couldn't speak, couldn't breathe and the only sound in my ears were the screams of all the other students as we plummeted towards what might be our death. I could have frozen time and taken one last moment before we hit the structure, but I didn't even think to do that.

Suddenly, with a lurch and click, there was darkness and rattling, but still I didn't look, afraid of what I might see. It was now to far past to have not hit something.

"Lydia," Warren half-yelled over the lessening screams and I forced my eyes open.

Amazingly, the top of the building had somehow opened up and the bus was now traveling on some sort of track through the monstrous structure. It only took a couple moments before the bus braked into a more leisurely pace and the track spiraled in broader loops. I looked at Warren with jaw dropped, and then stared back out at the interior. There were broad windows that gave the impression of a normal office building, though I was sure they probably didn't allow any to see in. The excited whispers began a moment later as everyone got over the shock.

I just shook my head and swallowed. There was nothing to say at the moment.

Warren didn't seem to feel the same way, "What the hell was that?" he asked loudly as Principal Powers turned to address us.

"That, Mr. Peace, was a highly advanced entry. I'm sorry for the shock to your systems but it was necessary for all our sakes to keep this absolutely hushed until the day."

"Well everyone outside might have noticed a flying school bus hurtling through the sky," Magenta voiced, rolling her eyes.

"Actually we were covered with a special cloaking device. You might have noticed when it went up, a transparent sort of coating. Mr. Medulla developed it this year especially for this trip."

"Yeah." Zach piped up, "Wouldn't want the villains to find…well wherever we're going!"

"Actually, most villains know the whereabouts of this place. This is a secret from the, for lack of a better word, normal people in the outside world. This," she began dramatically, "Is the underground Hero Haven."

Only a few people seemed to actually know what that meant. Will seemed to understand and I wondered if his dad had told him about it before the trip actually took place. Ethan was nodding in an understanding way but the rest of us were stumped as to what exactly the Hero Haven was. Now when I look back on that moment I think it's funny how little we, as the future superheroes of the world, actually knew about our own community. We would learn quickly.

The bus passed the ground level and dived deeper. We briefly saw some sort of entrance lounge that was made to look as realistic as possible. A couple people were manning the front desk. Later I would find out that this also served as the main entrance for those people who didn't come by flying vehicles. I'd even come that way myself in the future. It might have been ten minutes before we stopped at a dark dead-end. An automated voice requested an entrance code which was given by the quickly typing fingers of the bus driver. It then asked for voice verification from Principal Powers.

She stepped up to the window and craned her neck towards the driver's window awkwardly, "Lacey Powers, Principal of Sky High."

"Lacey?" Magenta mouthed with a smirk from across the aisle.

Warren disentangled his hand from mine as Principal Powers sat back down in her seat. The dead-end in front of us began rumbling and then a crack of light shown in a straight line up the middle. In a moment the two pieces swung inward, almost blinding us with the light that shown behind them. The bus moved forward slowly until we were entirely within. The doors shut behind us and our eyes adjusted to the new surroundings. It seemed to be a large white room, pulsing with the glowing light that signified power-draining. The bus doors opened and we all exited.

There didn't appear to be any doors and even the way we had come was indistinguishable from the rest of the room. Warren wrapped his arms around himself, probably feeling slightly cold without his powers. It didn't help that his outfit was sleeveless, though he did have black braces covering his forearms. Principal Powers' shoes made loud clicking noises on the white floor as she took her position in front of the group of us.

"As you may have noticed this room completely neutralizes powers, this way no one may use any powers to enter the Hero Haven. The only way to enter is to be properly registered with the International Registry of Super-Powered Beings. Rest assured this list is kept under the tightest security in the world. In a moment, those of you who are not registered will have a chance to," she paused and clasped her hands in front of her, "Before that, however a few words of caution, "This place is no safer from villains than any other. This is why you have all been given your uniforms, in order to keep your identities safe. Do not be foolish."

After she finished, a glowing yellow rectangle, about the size of a doorway, appeared on the wall. Principal Powers motioned for the Commander and Coach Boomer to enter. Each stopped before the door in turn and stated their superhero name before receiving a retina and palm scan. When their identities were verified they stepped through and disappeared from sight. It then fell to us to make our own official entrance into the underground world of our peers.

As we stood in line, Warren drew me closer with one hand on my shoulder and bent his head to whisper, "The Ministry wears all black in civilian life, but they wear all red for work as their alternate identities…"

"I'll be careful," I promised before giving him a quick peck on the lips, "Don't worry."

"Ms. Tudor," Principal Powers' voice startled me, "I wouldn't advice any physical contact of that sort once you pass through the door. You can never be too careful about who you're associated with when the mask is on."

I nodded with a slight blush and sighed. This hero business was going to take a lot more thought than most of us expected. Sometimes, I thought that my brain was going to explode and litter the surroundings with everything that had been forced in this past year. There were so many things to remember and to be cautious about. It was no wonder that Superheroes so often fell because a slip of the tongue or a moment of forgetfulness. That's all it took, and there was always someone watching and waiting to take full advantage of it.

Layla disappeared into the glowing doorway with a smile and then it was my turn. I stepped up, "Pause," I said clearly and distinctly heard a chuckle or two from behind me. I couldn't turn to look because the retinal scan began immediately followed by the palm scan. I took a deep breath and stepped through the yellow entrance. I screamed as I fell back on my behind and went sliding down through glowing nothingness. I could vaguely hear Warren for a moment before a male automated voice sounded loudly in my ear.

"Registration process to begin for one "Pause", alternate identity by biometrics: Lydia Thyme Tudor. Abilities and powers scan to commence…"

I felt sudden warmth that grew into an uncomfortable sweltering feeling. It left a moment later leaving me feeling cold. Still I slid down and around, wondering where exactly I was headed.

"Powers and abilities scan complete. Pause now registered as chronokinetic with the ability to slow the dimension of time. No other abilities at this time. Potential for short dimension bending jumps into future: small, untapped but nevertheless present. Registration process completed."

The next thing I knew I was standing in a huge, noisy place surrounded by those who had already come through to the other side. Layla was listening to the Commander's speech on safety in Hero Haven and Zach was standing to the side trying out his secret ninja moves. Apparently, the computer had told him that he had small, untapped potential for above average reflexes.

I shook my head and looked around in amazement; the place we were standing was enormous. It could have been its own city, save for the lack of natural lighting and the fact that the ceiling that rose so far above us was made of some sort of impenetrable metal. All around were different buildings and many different sorts of vending carts. The people were all dressed in some sort of costume and were hurrying about on their own business. A few flew over our heads while others viewed us with curiosity. The person who elicited the most stares was of course the Commander.

Warren appeared beside me suddenly through another rectangle of yellow light. It disappeared promptly though the confusion on his face remained, "Well that was weird."

"No kidding," I answered shaking my head, "What was all that stuff about untapped powers?"

Ethan appeared behind us and spoke up, "They're powers that you have the potential for. Most people will never develop them but it's more than likely that they'll play into whatever powers your children, if you have any, will get."

"Thanks," I offered as he shrugged and excused himself to go talk with Magenta. I noticed that he looked a lot taller in his costume somehow. Of course the lack of glasses and the bright orange cape might have helped in improving his appearance also. I knew for myself, the costume had done the opposite. Still I'd have to get used to it whether I liked what it did for my figure or not.

"Warren I am so glad you decided to go for the sleeveless look, it really adds a nice affect. Course all of the girls especially appreciate it if you know what I mean," Michelle Zap said with a beautiful smile.

Warren raised his eyebrows and grunted what must have sounded like "Oh you're so great, do go on…" somehow to Michelle.

"The flames up the sides of the pants are so gorgeous, I would have never thought of doing that, but they really suit you…the black is great too, so many people," she glared towards Ethan here, "have really bright colors and it's nice to see something just really simple…Very cool but still simplistic…"

_Whoo boy, she's rambling now with no signs of stopping. _I thought, moving to stuff my hands in my pockets…until I realized I in fact didn't have any pockets to stuff said hands into.

"Lydia," a familiar voice called from my right. I turned and saw Fintan coming towards us with his typical get-up. He looked kind of out of place in the suit and sunglasses but I couldn't really imagine him wearing anything else.

"Hi," I said simply, noticing Michelle's talking had ceased for a moment.

"Aw Lydia," she said suddenly, "Is this your boyfriend?"

I laughed loudly and turned to her with a puzzled expression.

"No that would be me," Warren said suddenly, trying perhaps to get her off of his back. It only made the situation more awkward. She looked at us all for a few seconds before turning and walking away with an angry expression. I shook my head and sighed.

"Warren," what was I supposed to say in introduction? Hey Warren meet who I think is our son from the future? "This is Fintan, he's a friend…and he's uh, one of my relatives."

"Like Queen Elizabeth is one of your relatives?" Warren answered, shaking Fintan's hand with a slight grin.

"Well I'm not her mother," Fintan said trying to joke along. I just put a hand to my forehead and rubbed my temples with a prolonged sigh.

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**AN: Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I hope you all like this chapter!**


	10. Societies and Secrets

Chapter 9.

They shook hands and that was that. Thankfully there were no more mentions, even in joke, about who exactly my mother was. It was so interesting to watch them standing together. I was able to note more similarities I hadn't before. They were about the same height with Fintan standing an inch or two taller…of course that could have been attributed to Warren's customary slouch. Besides the obvious things like possessing the same smile, I noticed they also had the same nose and that most of Fintan's facial structure matched up with Warren's. I think I hadn't noticed that before because the difference in complexions had made it less obvious.

There wasn't a whole lot of time to observe however. Principal Powers had the whole day precisely scheduled. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by that, but it was still slightly annoying to have no time to just explore. I had to keep reminding myself that we were registered here now and I could search out every nook and cranny at a later date.

Things were made slightly more awkward by Fintan's presence. He didn't go away after Principal Powers started handing schedules out, but rather seemed determined to stay with us the rest of the day. I groaned inwardly at the thought. I loved the kid…or man, but it was just too strange to be walking around with my friends and him. Everyone else, however, didn't seem to share my opinion. Magenta had promptly taken a shine to him and even ventured to ask how old he was. I just rolled my eyes at the comment, realizing that I was actually grateful she had a crush on Knight and not my son.

Still, I had almost choked on the Jetstream popsicle I was eating when she asked that. We'd picked up the cold treats from a corner vendor who was dressed in a hideous pink and yellow costume. Warren patted me on the back several times before I could talk again.

"I'm about twenty-three currently," Fintan answered with a small smile.

"Did you go to Sky High?" Will asked after adjusting his bothersome cape.

I turned and looked at my son with crossed arms, waiting for the answer.

"No I didn't. But I hear it's a good school."

I looked over at Knight who nodded in the affirmative. That must have meant he was telling the truth. Ethan continued to pester him with questions not so cleverly concealed to find out exactly what his occupation was. Out of all of them Ethan had the best chance to figure out which agency Fintan worked for. As the brainiac in Hero History and Social Studies he'd have a checklist running in his head of all the candidate organizations. I suddenly wished I'd paid more attention; my interests had primarily been funneled into Medulla's draining Science classes.

"So," Fintan said suddenly, "Where are you guys supposed to go first?"

I smirked at his uneasy way of switching the topic before looking down at the schedule, "Looks like we're supposed to head to the "Skill Societies" headquarters."

"Skill Societies?" Zach asked, "Is that like superhero clubs for different powers? Am I going to meet a whole slew of incredibly awesome glowing people?"

We all looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Fintan laughed, "Sort of. They're designed to help superheroes, but since it'd be awfully impersonal to have a huge organization they created the societies to handle the cases by power divisions. They help find jobs for heroes and sidekicks, help you fill out applications for government money, that sort of thing," he paused, "Of course they also tend to be really biased towards their own power grouping and they can be pretty sly so don't sign anything that you haven't read over first. Everyone ready?"

I nodded absentmindedly and looked back at Warren. I was sure we were wondering the same thing. The most likely place to meet Ministry members from his family would probably be in the Society for pyrokinetics. We didn't have time to speak about it though because Fintan whisked us away to the largest building in Hero Haven. It looked like it had been modeled after the Parthenon, save for the fact that the materials used were all colorful metal and plastics in varying shades.

"Watch this," Fintan said as we stopped before the flight of broad steps.

As we looked on the exterior shifted panels and changed from an image of a flame to an image of a human brain. It seemed to change about every two minutes. Zach could have probably stood there slack-jawed the rest of the day, but we were all increasingly aware of the stares we were receiving from the older heroes who passed by. They stared as if to say, "Newbies" in demeaning tones.

"Come on," Will said and then mounted the stairs with us trailing behind. I grabbed Zach's arm as we passed to make sure he'd be coming with.

After seeing the amazing façade of the building it was a little disappointing to realize the interior was rather plain with black columns and a marble checkerboard floor. Different banners representing each of the Skill Societies hung from the ceiling, but it was so tall that we could barely read what each one said. I craned my neck and squinted my eyes until finally a clock on an orange banner came into focus. So there was a Time Society. The thought made me both elated and anxious. It would be so strange and exciting to meet people who shared my power bent.

Will looked around. He was used to taking the lead, but it was a little different in a place none of us had ever been to before. All our eyes eventually turned to Fintan.

"We just go up those stairs," Fintan motioned to the broad and elegant set of stairs that went up from the middle of the floor and led to a glowing yellow doorway, much like the one we'd passed through before, the only difference being that it was much wider, "The transportation system here is pretty sophisticated, it will transport you to the right society."

"I noticed when we were being registered the machine scans both for latent and present superhero capabilities. They must use the new biom-"

I tuned Ethan out as we mounted the stairs. Will walked in first with very little hesitation. I wondered at the many ways he'd changed. I'd not even seen the full extent of his transformation from awkward sidekick to the leader of us all, having only been at Sky High for senior year. Still there were subtle things about the way he squared his shoulders that let us all know our once unwilling captain had officially taken the title upon himself. He'd be a leader of something, that one thing was certain.

When I walked in the same uncomfortable warmth spread from toe to head, but I realized the falling sensation wasn't there. I simply stood, almost as if I had used my powers to pause any movement and in a moment I appeared in a large office with the Time Society's logo of the clock on orange hanging in the doorway. It was a comfortable place, but reminded me far too much of the dentist's office for my liking. There was even an aquarium in one of the walls. The warm colors, matching the banner, were a relief from the cold black and white interior I'd just come from.

I put a hand to my mask to make sure it was still in place and stood watching the people for a moment. Some entered like I did while others exited in a blur or white disc of time-jumping. The secretary for the organization was moving through a sped up dimension of her own, completing stacks of paperwork in a matter of seconds. I took it all in quickly before I found myself engulfed in a tight squeeze.

I backed away from the embrace with a perplexed look. Awareness of the danger of the Ministry had put me on my guard. The perpetrator, a tall young lady who looked to be only a few years older than me, backed away from the embrace, her ruby colored eyes slightly moist.

"I'm sorry," I started to say, "Do I know you?"

"Well not yet," she said with a cheerful smile, "But you will sometime soon," and with that she winked and turned to walk away.

I watched her leave with a puzzled expression and then shook my head resignedly. I suppose as a chronokinetic you have to get used to all the strange twists in time you might encounter. There were no more strange incidents the rest of my time there, save for the usual things that might happen when surrounded with chronokinetic beings. To my surprise, Fintan never showed up. I wondered if maybe he was a part of the pyrokinetic club as well with his invulnerability to fire. Maybe he had wanted to accompany Warren for some reason. The thought made me nervous. I finished filling out the paperwork to be entered into the Society's database, double-checking the fine print before signing.

Knowing I was all done there I left the room and decided to wait for the other people to be done with their own business. I wondered how many of them had decided to fill out applications for Hero Haven Security or something similar. I knew especially for sidekicks it would be helpful to have some sort of guaranteed job. The security here apprehended any suspected villains and also took care of more mundane things like stopping shoplifters from stealing mementos from the souvenir stall.

After waiting several minutes I sat down on one of the broad stairs and resorted to one of my favorite pastimes: people watching. There were superheroes coming and going in everything from pajama bottoms to indestructible armor. I saw a total of three secret agents dressed like Fintan and two in the red trench coats and masks of the Ministry. None of them looked at me, but I couldn't help shivering every time one passed nearby.

Fintan appeared suddenly in a white glowing circle and sat next to me, "Well you sure were quick."

"Yeah," I offered, "Hey, I wanted to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"I've been reading the letters from Baron to Hana Peace."

He nodded.

"Is there any way for you to take me and Warren back there to see what happened? I mean he's read the news articles but his mom's never told him what really happened that day."

"I don't think so, there's too much chance of changing something," his voice carried a tone of finality I couldn't argue with. I looked at the toes of my shiny boots glumly, "But…there might be another way you could see what happened without actually going back in time."

I left it that as Fintan seemed to be caught in deep thought. A voice broke both of us out of our reverie. I looked up and felt light-headed. It was Fletcher standing there clothed in the red of the Ministry. The upturned collar of his trench coat disguised his baiting smile. He turned his head to the side as if almost recognizing me, but shook it off in a moment.

"So Fintan? Finally got yourself a girlfriend?"

Fintan looked at me and I longed to see straight through his sunglasses. He had some explaining to do, "No, just a girl I met," his voice had taken a dark tone which sent goosebumps up my spine, "She's deaf, but can read lips pretty well," he finished and let a sly smile slide across his face. He turned back to me and exaggerated his words, "You're sister is probably back in there," he motioned to the doors, "better get going."

I nodded, too frightened and confused to speak and walked quickly through the yellow opening, not before hearing Fintan say, "Little cold for my tastes, probably couldn't get in her pants anyway."

I steeled myself against going back and slapping him across the face. When the usual warmth settled over me I dared to try to talk to the machine. My voice was shaking in anger, "Change destination to Society of Fire."

* * *

**AN: I thought I should make a note here to say, yes, the Hero Haven is my original creative property. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, there are many explanations to come in the future. Thanks so much for the reviews!**


	11. Breakdown

Chapter 10.

It took a full five minutes before the machinery in charge of the transportation system would even consider taking me where I wanted to go. So I waited in the yellow glowing atmosphere, mind spinning madly like a child's toy set to motion on a tabletop. I crossed my arms over my waist as all the questions came pouring like an unrelenting rainstorm. I was so very sick of this lifestyle, of not knowing who I could trust, of not knowing what was going on.

Why had Fletcher known Fintan? He was a part of the Ministry and had treated my son like a comrade. I went over all the time I had spent with my son from the future. Could it be possible that Fintan worked with the Ministry and had simply been playing us all from the beginning? It was hard to believe, but at the moment I could think of no other explanation that made any sense. He had made his rude comment to protect me or to protect himself from being associated with me. Either way it only added to the aura of mystery that clothed his actions.

I put a hand to my forehead as the sudden pain began again. It was the same familiar pang that radiated from the front of my head to the back in waves. My teeth gritted and tears came unbidden to my eyes. Soon, even though the pain had begun to cease, I was crying like a little girl with a scraped knee. I so badly wanted to be normal, to not have to worry about my boyfriends mafia-esque relations or whether he would ever remember what we'd shared in an alternate dimension.

The hot salty tears made my black half-mask stick awkwardly and uncomfortably to my face. I couldn't take it off here where all actions were probably observed by someone but I was tempted. Tempted to rip off the mask and be done with this charade of a life that I'd never asked for. Who was I to think I could be a superhero? If I couldn't handle my own relationships then how would I ever be able to combat larger problems like nuclear threats and supervillians? If I was crying about headaches and boys then how would I keep my cool when faced with thefts and murders? Was I alone in feeling this way? Or had every hero to put on a costume feel this way at some point?

A hand touched my shoulder and I almost reflexively struck out at the offending person. That was until I noticed that the yellow glowing atmosphere was gone and the strangely garbed person was actually my boyfriend. I wiped quickly at my eyes and wiped the now wet fingers on the side of my pant leg only to find along with everything else they were also water-retardant.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, his dark eyes flashing behind the mask and hood that were part of his costume. All around us people went back to work, seemingly uninterested in what was happening.

"Fintan," my voice croaked, "I saw Fletch-"

My son's voice sounded behind me, "We just had a little run in with the Ministry," his voice was low and confiding. I couldn't even turn to look at him, "She came to tell you something though."

"I did?" I asked in a sarcastic, biting tone.

"You know, how I said we could view the past and…" he trailed off but I refused to elaborate, he turned his speech towards Warren, "She was asking if there was anyway we could see what happened the day," he paused and looked around, "your father was arrested."

Warren visibly stiffened and dropped his hand from my shoulder, "Yeah?"

"There is a way we can do that through the agency I work for. So if you guys want to meet up tomorrow I could bring you there and set it up."

I finally turned to stare at my son. I could feel his eyes on me even though the sunglasses blocked all sign of movement. Warren was still standing stiffly, even with the hood, I could tell his jaw was clenching and unclenching in its customary way. I could understand his hesitancy but thought I knew how he'd answer. Maybe I did know his personality a bit better than I thought.

"Ok," he said simply.

"We can meet at my house tomorrow morning. It's a Saturday so my dad won't mind."

"Alright," Fintan said with a quick smile that looked so fake.

Warren nodded and Fintan turned back to leave through the glowing portal.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Warren asked, concern lacing the question.

"Yeah, I'm fine…just a little tired I think," I wanted to touch his arm and reassure him but I was remembering again Principal Powers' warning about physical contact.

"Well now that this week is over it'll be better…no more death drills or save-the-citizen," his smirk was genuine.

"That's one good thing," I answered, "We should probably get going," I turned towards the portal.

"Ly-" Warren stopped remembering that our names were supposed to be secret, "Do you want to go out tomorrow after the…you know?"

"You think you'll feel up to it?" I asked skeptically, knowing that the viewing could possibly be the most emotionally draining experience of his life.

"Yeah."

"Sounds good to me then," I answered.

000000000

The next morning I was up at dawn with another headache. I resolved to tell my dad about it when he got up. Perhaps it had something to do with my powers. I didn't want to worry anyone but I knew once I told him, a trip to our special superhero doctor would probably be in order. It would be better than dealing with this pain, I thought clutching at my forehead as it slowly receded. There was no sleeping after that so I tiptoed to the kitchen to make some breakfast and of course the necessary cup of coffee.

"What are you doing up so early?" Shyla's voice made me jump and stub my toe on the bottom of the fridge.

I put a hand to my racing heart, "I don't know I just couldn't sleep I guess…You?"

She smiled customarily, her dimples quite prominent in her otherwise plain face, "I couldn't sleep either," her smile slowly disappeared but remained in her ruby colored eyes as she looked up at me from her seat on the kitchen counter, "Do you want to know a secret?"

Looking into her eyes I suddenly remembered another probing set of misty red irises, "I think I know what you're going to say," I answered as I set the coffee brewing.

"You can't tell your father yet but, I'm pregnant."

I shook my head with a grin remembering what the strange woman at the Hero Haven had said about us meeting sometime soon…nine months give or take would have been more accurate, "That's wonderful Shyla," I said turning to let her see my happiness for her. I told myself that woman could have been any number of people but somehow deep down inside I believed it could be no other person.

"She'll be just great," I said and returned Shyla's tearful embrace.

"She?"

"Well I don't know," I answered suddenly, "But we need more girls around here don't we?"

I don't know if she believed my explanation but she nodded anyway, "I was going to tell your dad first but I just took the test and it didn't seem like a secret I could to myself."

"That's alright, I won't say anything," I answered, eyes fixed on the steady stream of coffee pouring into the pot.

"Thanks."

We both heard the back door open and close quietly before watching Taylor try to sneak stealthily by. He looked up and saw us both staring at him with idiotic grins on our faces.

"Busted," I said in a sing-song voice before retrieving a large mug from the cupboard.

"Taylor James Mercury," Shyla started in a firm disciplinary tone, then after a prolonged pause, "You're going to be a big brother!"

I shook my head…my dad would be lucky if he found out before the rest of the superhero community at this rate. Taylor, surprised and relieved at not being in trouble smiled, "That's great mom," and then he walked slowly trying to make a nonchalant exit.

"But that doesn't mean you're not grounded for the rest of the week."

"Ah mom?!" He started and I rolled my eyes before retreating to my room with my cup of coffee in hand.

I decided to wear comfortable clothes since I wasn't quite sure of how exactly we would be viewing this history or for how long. Once I was dressed for the day, already looking like it would be pretty warm, I stuffed several things into my quilted satchel and returned to the sanctuary of my bed to wait for Fintan to come. The stack of letters sitting by my bed caught my eye and I realized I still had to read the last four. I grabbed the remaining envelopes and burrowed into my gray blankets. I unfolded the first one and my dark eyes immediately began to skim across the page.

_Hana,_

_Little time to write again, they are keeping me watched more often as we near the date to launch their master plan upon the world. They must see my reticence to partake in the plot but I think I become a better actor day by day. How little I knew then that participating in drama and starring in that musical in high school would help me now to protect us all. _

_I hope you are also taking up acting. I signed the divorce papers today, even though my hand shook while I did so. I know it is for the best, that it is for your protection and for Warren's but still if you had not sent me word by Fintan that it was the last thing you wanted to do—_

I looked at the letter and skimmed the previous line again, my eyes widening in shock every time they crossed the name. My fingers gripped tighter on the lined paper as I finished reading.

_--I might have despaired thinking that the years we've spent apart have deadened the memory of the time we spent together. He is a good messenger and though I've questioned putting my trust in him before I now know he wishes to destroy this organization even more than I do…I should not write such things even if I know they'll be delivered safely._

_I hope this little note finds you and Warren well. I wonder often how much he has changed and about what his powers are, but don't tell me even by word through our messenger. Knowledge can be dangerous and there is no stopping the Ministry from starting this plot all over again with Warren when he is old enough to be threatened like I was. I don't hold anything against you my dear…there is nothing in my heart but love for you. Be safe._

_Yours forever,_

_Baron_

I dropped the letter and ran a hand across my forehead just as someone knocked at my door.

"Lydia? Warren and Fintan are here," Shyla's voice was cheerful.

"Ok," I managed to say, "I'll be right there."


	12. Breakup

Chapter 11.

If Fintan noticed me staring strangely at him he probably shrugged it off and thought it had something to do with all that had happened the previous day. He remained as calm and cool as ever as we transported to the agency headquarters. I remembered the place vaguely from the time I'd been here when my uncle was recaptured but it was obviously Warren's first time. We walked slowly behind Fintan down a long plain corridor which stretched to meet a solitary black door.

"Sure is dead around here," Warren said quietly and took my hand.

"Yeah," I whispered back as we finally reached the door.

Fintan took out a strange-looking key and unlocked the two bolts. A biometric scanning device slid out from a box beneath the handle and he put his hand on it patiently. We stood awkwardly behind him. I wondered what Warren was thinking right now. Through that door was the answer to many of his questions about his father, it would be the finale of a series that had started with the very first letter Baron had written to Hana. I felt the squeeze of his larger hand around mine and tried to smile reassuringly. How different would he be once we came out this door from the other side?

The door swung open at a small push from Fintan and inside lights flickered on automatically. There was no one else in the small room. There was an abandoned desk with a computer and technological equipment that we didn't recognize. In front of that were a couple black folding chairs facing a large pull-down projection screen. The projector itself was hanging from the ceiling.

I jumped at the sound of the door shutting behind us and then took a seat as Fintan gestured for us to do so. He went over to the computer and waited for it to come out of its catatonic state after a few mouse clicks. Warren and I sat stiffly in the chairs waiting for something to happen. In a moment Fintan took a seat next to me.

"This is the record we have of that day, I haven't watched it yet myself but I'm assured it has not been edited. It's only nine minutes long."

I nodded and gulped as the screen flickered to life. The only sign of Warren's nervousness was his sweaty palm firmly pressed against my own. The colors became more vibrant as the machine above us began to hum steadily. On the screen was a panoramic shot probably taken by some news cast. I knew from previous research that it was near Maxville's lakeside suburb. All along the banks on the far side tourist businesses and homes were alight with fire that lit up the evening sky.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the camera and several of the houses were obliterated. I flinched involuntarily as screams began. The camera focused in on several people on the bank shore, every single one of them dressed in the red of the Ministry. One was pointing to different locations across the lake and those places exploded accordingly. He then turned to the man standing by his side and motioned towards a small boat that was tied up near the wooden dock. The man's face came into focus and Warren's grip tightened as we both realized it was his father.

Muffled sound came recording some of the conversation between the six men still standing on the shore, "He'll be coming some time soon, no doubts about that…Jetstream will probably be with him. The newscasts will have spotted them by now."

"Well we won't be here to meet them," Another said in a strangely familiar tone. Still the transmission was slightly garbled so it was hard to tell, "Baron will be crucified if they win and we'll be rid of the Commander if Baron wins."

They all nodded and laughed among themselves even as the man with the power of explosion caused a few more houses across the water to implode. Baron approached dragging two seemingly unconscious victims with him. They were clothed in normal clothes, one was a young girl in her mid-twenties, blood stained the front of her white blouse. The other was a teenage boy sporting a multi-colored mohawk. He glared at the villains even as one reached out to hit him across the face. They had probably been picked up from the populous boardwalk that was located on one side of the lake. It was back then a popular hang-out.

"Well Baron, now's your chance, kill them before the duo gets here."

"What? You didn't say anything about killing them."

"Alright," the leader said and pulled a huge gun out of his trench coat. With two precise shots both bodies slumped to the ground. Pools of blood began gathering even as the camera whipped up in time to see Jetstream and the Commander arriving from the sky.

One of those in red put his hand out and a huge glowing white disc appeared. The rest of the group disappeared into it as the leader threw the gun towards the Baron. With a salute he too stepped into the disc and in a moment it was gone. I looked at Fintan with anger, that's why the voice had sounded familiar…it must have been him, and he, my own son, had helped them all escape? I wanted him to tell me it wasn't true but he stared icily ahead ignoring my questioning gaze. I looked back at the screen as the Commander landed on the sandy shore. Jetstream took off towards the houses, probably to save whoever she could.

"Baron Battle," the Commander said shaking his head, "I never thought you'd end up as sick and twisted as your in-laws. You killed two innocent citizens in cold blood and hundreds more."

"Look Stronghold," the voice was gruff, "I didn't kill these people, could I have set all the fires and bombs by myself?"

"Baron we saw the gang disappear, I've been doing my research and all of it points to you as leader of the Ministry."

"Ministry leaders have to be pyrokinetics, obviously your research is lacking," there was fear in Baron's voice.

In a minute they were fighting on the sand. Although Baron's power was indestructibility he had met his match in someone who had that and super-strength. It wasn't long before the authorities had arrived to cart him away with a power-draining cuff. The reporters were there to snap pictures of the Commander and Jetstream rescuing victims from the burning houses. The video stopped in a moment and we sat in silence.

"The Commander is so…" I started to say.

Warren held his free hand up and shook his head, "They must have fed him information to frame my dad. It's not his fault."

I looked at him with shock. The enmity he had towards the Commander had been simmering for a long time and now this video if anything had done away with it. I could only wonder where it was focused now, no doubt on members of the Ministry. I looked at Fintan with that thought, trying to think what I should say to him. Nothing came to mind and we were ushered out with the memory of the images still ingrained in our consciousness. There would be a lot to talk about when we went out for dinner.

000000000

Warren stood in front of me with a shy smile on his face. He was wearing nice jeans and a pin-striped collared shirt. I looked at him with a shocked smile. I didn't know if I liked this look or not. The effort taken of course was incredible and flattering, but it was so very different from what I was used to. Suspicion as to why he'd made such an effort came to the back of my mind. I pushed it away wondering why I always had to be so cynical about everything. Still it seemed strange that he wasn't acting affected by what we had seen earlier.

"Lydia?" he said, raising one eyebrow at my slack-jawed expression, "It's just a shirt."

I shut my mouth immediately and blushed. Warren took my hand assertively and we walked towards the restaurant doors.

"I know," I started, "It's just…It looks great Warren, just different."

"Well I wasn't going to come in a t-shirt and ripped jeans to this place," he replied with a condescending grin before opening the door for me.

I nodded, this was a nice sit-down place. Above the Paper Lantern in atmosphere, and, I supposed prices as well. Thinking of that, I tugged nervously at my black sleeves and ran my hands down the sides of my orange-red gauchos in an attempt to smooth them. Warren stepped ahead to tell the man the names for the reservation. The thin man nodded and ran a knobby finger down the list.

His pointer finger tapped twice on the name, "Ah yes, please follow me."

We sat at the small table and I looked across at Warren curiously, "So what's up? I mean you're acting perfectly normal and then dinner?"

He smiled but it didn't light his eyes, "I just thought we haven't had much of a chance to talk since this week started," he shrugged, "And it seems there's plenty to talk about."

"Ok," I paused, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Who's your mom?" he was being perfectly honest.

"Queen Elizabeth," I answered somewhat taken aback by the randomness of the question.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well that must suck not knowing your mom at all."

I looked at him and slowly raised one eyebrow, "You believe me now?"

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes I believe you. It is a little weird though."

"A lot weird actually," I answered with a relieved smile.

The waiter approached to ask us what we wanted to drink. After a moment he left us alone to stare awkwardly at each other. Warren took a sip of the ice water already at the table and then continued with his questions. I half-wondered how long he'd been waiting to ask these things, and why exactly he was doing it now.

"So have you ever traveled back in time?"

"Fintan took me to see the opening performance of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and…" I was about to speak of the alternate dimension but realized suddenly that would mean telling him about things he was better off not knowing, "And that's about it, my dad is pretty strict about messing around with history. He's a reformed villain so he knows how much damage can be done."

Warren nodded and the waiter brought us our drinks and set them down before waiting for our order. Warren must have already known exactly what he wanted for tonight because he ordered without looking at the menu. I just nodded that I'd have the same before turning my attention back to him. His eyes had never left my face and the half-veiled expression in them frightened me even though I didn't understand what it meant. I just felt the overwhelming urge to tell him anything he wanted to know, it seemed very important suddenly.

As dinner wore on we started talking less and less about me and more about him. When our food was gone and the bill had come we were skirting the topic of his father. He pulled out his credit card and waited for the waiter to bring it back.

"So have you finished the letters yet?" he sprung the question with no prelude.

"Almost, I have to read the last two," I paused, "You knew the whole time that Fintan was…"

"One of them? Yeah I read it, he must work undercover for them and use the information to help his agency. I talked to him a little about it. I didn't know who the messenger "Fintan" was until you introduced us yesterday."

I nodded and pulled the stack of envelopes out of my purse, "I brought the ones I'd read so you could have them back. I'll try to read the others tonight."

Warren nodded and got up after the waiter brought back his receipt and card. We walked out and I could feel my heart pounding a strange frightened rhythm. It was as if my body had read all the signs before my head had. I was slow to realize what this dinner actually meant, though it seemed now that I reflected he'd been dropping hints the whole time. When I turned to him under the misty light of the moon and streetlamps I was sure my eyes were full of tears. Still, it was as if my mind was detached from my body and this was all a dream I'd wake up from.

His look said it all before he opened his mouth to speak, "I wanted to see you a last time," he cleared his throat but his voice was still rough with emotion, "Maybe it was selfish…but I had to talk to you," he regained control of himself suddenly and his voice was measured and cold, "I can't go out with you any more Lydia. Sorry," he ended lamely and turned to go.

I grabbed at his shirt sleeve, and he half-turned, even through the curtain of hair I could see his eyes were misty as well, "Warren," I started and he shrugged me off.

"I don't like you Lydia," his voice was angry now, whether at me or at what he had to say I didn't know, "Don't you understand? It's over."


	13. Misinformation

Chapter 12.

_Hana,_

_What did I do to deserve my time with you? There must have been something because I can't imagine being so incredibly blessed for no reason other than mere chance. The day I first saw you I knew I was going to marry you. It was something about the way you looked at people. There was a guarded kindness in your eyes that I knew I wanted to unlock. I wanted you to look at me with love, no inhibitions blocking the emotion._

_It wasn't until the day Warren was born that I saw that. All the pretenses had been stripped away. All the walls we'd built to protect ourselves crumbled at the sight of his little face. When we looked at each other I knew that moment would be the best of my entire life. _

_I know this all sounds like the foolish ramblings of some half-mad man but I wanted to tell you because I think my time is almost up. There are whispers here, but none of them are told to me. I'm meant for a key role in this massacre but they've yet to tell me. I would not ask you to do this under any other situation, but I think you should contact someone…maybe even The Commander. He's the only one I can think of who could possibly stop this. Just think about it…I trust your judgment. _

_If I don't write again I'm sure you'll see something on the news. Don't let Warren watch. Tell him I love him and always will, and know I love you too._

_All the love I have,_

_Baron_

I slammed the books down on the counter and turned to pick up another stack. The effort took more time with my two fingers still splinted but I managed somehow. Darren stepped in front of me, his wide face caught somewhere between gloating and concern.

"Someone's in a bad mood," he said with one of his deep laughs.

"Can you just move out of my way please?" I asked with quickly vanishing patience.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…and why do you care anyway?"

"I don't," he rolled his eyes, "But if I have to work with you the rest of this shift I'd like to know one comment isn't going to send you off into a rant."

My eyes narrowed, "Where do you come up with this stuff? I am perfectly fine, now move out of my way."

Speed moved to the side in an instant, using his powers, "Alright grumpy."

"Good," I answered and picked up the other stack of paperbacks. After a moment of silence I turned back to him. He was still staring at me, "What?"

"It's something to do with Warren huh?"

I froze, "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're showing all the signs of post-dumping syndrome."

"You made that up," I replied drolly and opened a cover on one of the books absentmindedly.

"Yeah pretty much, but you still have all the symptoms: Random rants, staring off into space at awkward moments, grumpiness, denial…"

I held up a hand, "We broke up ok, that's it."

"Well he must have dumped you right?"

"Yes, alright? He dumped me, are we done with the interrogation?"

"Did he tell you why?"

"No," I answered sullenly, "but I know why. Just leave it alone Darren, I don't want to talk about it."

He held up his hands in mock surrender and didn't broach the subject the rest of the shift. I realized during that time that he hadn't made fun of me at all the rest of the night. In fact it almost seemed he was going out of his way to help me. I shook my head at the thought as I locked up the back room and turned the lights out. It was strange to think that an ex-con who tried to destroy Sky High was now one of the only people who had tried to talk to me about why exactly I was acting so moody. It seemed the more experience I gained in the superhero world the more I learned that there was rarely a designated divide of white and black issues.

That thought led to others about the Ministry and everything that had happened in the eventful week. I sniffled softly and shook my head trying to push those ruminations away. I pulled on my scarf and then my hat with quick frustrated movements. For spring it seemed unusually cold. Of course the chilly breeze was the least of my worries at the moment. I wiped my nose with an angry sneer and determined to stop crying right that second. The few people I passed on the street looked at me like I was crazy. I couldn't blame them. I had a nasty habit of turning red and blotchy whenever I'd started to cry.

My breath made frosty clouds but the temperature didn't quell the fire within. The hard part was that I understood everything. I knew why Warren was acting this way. I knew why he dumped me, why he was angry. He wanted to protect me but I was finding more and more I'd almost rather be hurt than lose him again. Reading those letters had opened the door to understanding Warren, and now I knew he was just like his father. Trying to save the people he loved, no matter what the cost to himself.

A cough from behind me jarred me out of my thoughts. I looked back and saw two people only a couple feet away. They were dressed in all black and one looked startlingly familiar. Heart racing I turned and ran without any hesitation, looking all around, hoping that I could make it to one of the open shops before anything happened.

My hopes were dashed when another person in black stepped out from under an awning in front of me. Grabbing my shoulders he forced me back into an alleyway between two stores which were already closed. His hand, safe in black leather gloves was already clamped over my mouth. Screaming was not an option until that barrier was gone. I gathered all the breath I could into my lungs waiting for him move his hand.

Suddenly, I realized that I had my powers still. I reached for them but nothing happened. I looked down to see a power-draining cuff glowing brightly in the darkness. Fletcher approached, coming so close that I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face. He made a quick motion with his hand and the other took his hand from my mouth. I prepared to scream but no sound came forth. Instead Fletcher's knee went up into my gut in a motion that I barely saw.

All the accumulated oxygen left my body immediately, leaving me gasping for air and grunting in pain, "I hope you won't take this personally Lydia," another quick kick and I crumpled to the ground feeling as if any moment the world would disappear in a thousand shards of blinding pain, "After all, I like you. Unfortunately, you don't make very good choices when it comes to the company you keep," his blue eyes flickered in the dark and a strange cunning grin appeared for a moment, "Of course from now on I'm sure you'll be wiser."

I was pulled up to a standing position again but I slumped in the man's arms still straining to breathe. Fletcher grabbed my face with one hand and forced me to look him straight in the eyes. The fury that had building towards Warren now found its release in this struggle. I might not make it out of this conscious or even alive but there was something I could do to make him know what I felt about his supposed suavity.

The look in my eyes triggered something in Fletcher. Eyes narrowing he slapped me hard across the face. Stunned, I tasted blood, drawing back, I spit into his face hoping that he would taste the same coppery bitterness that he had forced on me. He drew back, features cold and emotionless as stone. He took out a white handkerchief from somewhere and wiped his face with swift motions. His other hand gestured something to the other man with him and the one holding me.

I was dropped onto the ground. Bones frighteningly jarred by the impact. My broken fingers ached from the effort of trying to catch myself. The pieces of a broken bottle lying beneath me ground uncomfortably into the exposed skin at my cheek. I barely had time to roll over when a foot came crashing into my abdomen and then another into my face. Tears mixed with blood and grit from the streets as I turned weakly, trying to protect my head. I was barely conscious when they stopped and words from another time were echoing in my head.

"_They're real villains, not the kind in spandex. They might not kill you but they'll make you wish they had…" _it was a line from one of Baron's earlier letters to Hana.

Fletcher turned me over with his foot and leaned over me a satisfied smile upon seeing my state, "This is just a warning for Warren. Make sure he knows this is what we do when in a charitable mood eh?" he nudged my arm and my head slumped to the side. If my mouth had been any shape to be moving I would have asked him if his spy ring had yet told him that Warren had dumped me…Apparently they were a little slow on the uptake.

I lay there for an uncountable amount of time, thinking that if this was how I was going to die at least I could see the stars. They didn't seem to want to stay still and reeled in circles. I could barely pick out the constellations but that task suddenly seemed very important. Anything to do except thinking about this was important. The funny thing was that I didn't really feel any of the fear I had when they had dragged me back into the alley. I just felt a strange overwhelming sense of numbness. The only coherent thought being that I would never give Warren any message from Fletcher.

My left hand moved to my neck and the fingers that weren't confined to the splint grasped at the hourglass charm there. I closed my eyes.

I don't remember falling asleep there but I do remember waking to a hand on my face and rain falling, seeping into clothes and onto bruised skin. I almost started, thinking maybe Warren had finally come to rescue me. Instead Darren's face came into my blurry line of vision.

"Lydia?" I heard him say. But it seemed like he was farther away then right beside me. There was incredible warmth just past my reach and I closed my eyes hoping if I passed out it would envelop me and take away the pain.

Instead I was kept awake by the jarring of Darren trying to pick me up. In the back of my mind I mentally reprimanded him. I had taken a First-Aid class awhile ago and knew you weren't supposed to move someone unless they were in immediate danger from oncoming traffic. I guess I didn't process then that I could be in danger, all the pain was still there but it was so intense that it had almost become normal. It was like the burning pain that ice on skin produces…it shouldn't feel so hot but it does anyway. Things like this passed through my mind without any rhyme or reason and soon I found I couldn't even think.

The blackness swallowed me.

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**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep the comments coming!**


	14. Collide

Chapter 13.

Knight opened the front door to see Will, Layla, Ethan, Malati, Zach, Maj and Quincy staring back at us. I stopped for a moment before smiling, "Behold the walking bruise!" I said loudly, hoping to wipe the concerned looks off their faces.

Will smiled and ruffled his coffee colored hair for a moment before taking my backpack from Knight who was already burdened with his own, "Glad to see you're sort of back to normal," he said with a grin.

"Well it was nice of Powers to give me three days excused absence after they released me from the hospital but I still think people are going to stare when I walk by."

Taylor jostled past us, throwing a smile over his shoulder as he walked down the driveway, "Injured or not I don't think the bus is going to wait for you."

"It doesn't look too bad yo, I mean once that Hillary kid came to school in a wheelchair," Zach added in his customary way.

"She wasn't black and blue all over doofus," Magenta answered and slapped him soundly on the shoulder.

I shook my head and laughed faintly then winced at the sudden stabbing sensation that brought. My ribs weren't nearly healed and the slightest motions set them off. I felt Layla's hand on my shoulder as everyone turned to walk towards the bus stop. I wondered vaguely how far out of there way they had gone to walk to our house.

"Are you really ok?" Layla asked.

"Well I'm drugged, bruised and I can barely breathe without severe pain because of my ribs. But other than that I'm just fine."

"I didn't really hear from War-"

"We broke up," I interrupted loudly.

She looked apologetic but I didn't want any apology from her. She hadn't done anything wrong after all. What she needed was a task and quick.

"Layla, could you help me get on the bus? I mean it's just kind of hard to get situated and everything with broken ribs."

"Of course," she brightened and officially became my mother hen for the whole journey.

I didn't mind much. After all I didn't really expect anyone else to sit next to me. In my head I made fun of my own optimistic expectations. He wasn't going to talk to me, look at me, think of me, if he could help it. Warren wasn't cruel, he just couldn't risk everything to look compassionate with an invalid. Luckily, Sky High did afford him some freedom of action as no one was really connected to the Ministry in any way. He still talked with Will sometimes from what I could gather. But I had no idea if Stronghold knew the real reasons behind his reticence to "hang out" with the group anymore.

Despite my determination not to make this harder for Warren I stared at him all through our strategy class and probably received a failing grade on my test. To others I said that the problem was the pain from my ribs. Of course, the real pain causing the distraction went much deeper. I thought I knew the reason behind it all. It seemed Warren had just been trying to protect me by the break-up but it was hard not to know for sure.

It was also weird coming back to school with all the other grades again. It seemed there was a lot more potential for being jostled now as well. After school all the seniors stayed after as we'd been told by Principal Powers at the beginning of spring break. I didn't know if I could handle the extra hour of training for the rest of the year but at least I'd been able to skip three days of it. That was in my mind the silver lining…if anyone in my position could really have a silver lining to any situation ever again.

I think Zach felt sorry for me, either that or Magenta had snatched Knight up as her partner. Either way he volunteered to work with me on the mind invasion tactics which we were studying in our extra hour. It seemed while I'd been gone Professor Xavier had donated enough sets of the machinery to allow us to practice with partners. This way, we were assured, would be much more productive because we would learn what it felt like to be on the pushing end of a mind takeover. I groaned at my luck of having the champion as my partner and dutifully sat down as gingerly as possible to be tested.

We went at it gently at first, perhaps he thought in my state it wasn't a good idea to be sparring, but in ten minutes time we'd become more aggressive. Whether it was the numerous painkillers I was on that deadened mental reflexes, or Zach's seeming natural prowess at such things, I found myself soundly beaten. The mental image of Zach's figure charged through my barricades and in his glee began rifling through filed memories with a strange victory dance.

Panic overtook me suddenly as I glimpsed pieces from the alternate dimension. Things I'd tried so hard not to reveal lay in his hands ready to be divulged. Still I was defenseless and could do nothing save for shout and stomp my mental projection of a foot. He reached for things I knew to be memories of my past ordeal with the Ministry of Elements and suddenly I was able to make it end. There was one brief glimpse of Fletcher dabbing at the spit on his face and then WHAM the doors shut.

I breathed a sigh of relief and opened my eyes. I could only hope Zach had not seen too much. I knew he'd probably viewed most memories of the other dimension. His blue eyes stared straight back into my dark ones before we both blinked and began taking off the equipment.

"Dude…" he just said shaking his head, "Did you really-" he began.

I raised a hand and stared him down hard, "Listen here Zach, I don't know what you saw in there but I am asking you as a friend and telling you as someone who can lay a severe beat down," I winced and wrapped an arm around my torso, "Don't say a word about any of it to anyone."

He nodded slowly with one pale eyebrow raised. I sighed and then suddenly remembered that sighing hurt really bad, "What were you doing anyway, going through there?" I asked through gritted teeth before ruffling my hair in habitual fashion.

"I just got carried away I guess, look Dia I'm real sorry. Yo, I didn't know that you had all that-"

I held up a hand as I got up and he silenced himself for what might have been the first time in his life. I didn't know what to think. My life seemed to be falling to shambles around me and yet I stood there with absolutely no emotion. I realized the painkillers might have had something to do with the fuzziness in my logic and told myself that I'd get off of them as soon as I could. In the meantime it was almost relieving not to have to deal with it all.

"You and Knight coming over to Will's?" he asked suddenly.

"I guess…" I had really wanted to contact Fintan and yell at him for a while since he hadn't yet shown up in his own fashion but I supposed that could wait.

000000000

"So Speed saved you?" Magenta asked with an unbelieving tone.

"Yes," I growled out for the umpteenth time, "He used his powers to carry me to his car and then he drove me to the hospital," I paused, "I'm pretty sure I've said this three times already."

"Sorry," Magenta replied her eyes rolling, "Somebody is gru-"

Layla swatted Magenta's shoulder and shook her head warningly. I realized now that I should have just gone home rather than joined everyone else. I really was ruining things with my attitude. I stood up after a moment of effort, trying to keep my emotions in check. I was suddenly feeling the need to cry and I didn't want to do it in front of these people.

"Hey Knight I'm going to take the car home ok, I'm sure Will or someone can give you a ride after you're done here," my voice cracked towards the end and I hurried as fast as I could out of the room.

"Just because she got beat up and Warren broke up with her doesn't mean she needs to be all drama queen about it-" I heard Maj say in an ironic way.

I shook my head thinking about how sometimes I loved Magenta's way of talking and other times I just hated her for it. Tears stung in the corner of my eyes as Knight followed me towards the door.

"Lydia I don't mind going home. You probably shouldn't be driving," he began.

"I'm driving home Knight, don't worry I'll call when I get there," I said with a finality in my tone that he couldn't argue with.

I exited the Stronghold house and drove home with tears streaming down my cheeks. All the while I was thinking that trying to wean off the painkillers this early might have been a bad decision. The comforting fuzziness was no longer there and everything I'd been dealing with had come crashing upon my head with unrelenting fervor. I wanted to scream or shout but the pain in my ribs prevented me. Anything like that would be excruciating so crying became my only outlet. I suddenly wondered why eyes didn't have wipers like car windows did.

The house was dark when I parked in the driveway. The porch light was on, but I knew my dad and Shyla were out on a date and Taylor was off at some party. When I walked up and found the front door unlocked a part of me didn't even care if the Ministry minions were waiting inside. I wanted to take a deep breath before entering but I knew it would hurt so I settled for a soft sigh and swung the door open. This time I paused time and shut the door behind me in the quiet that ensued. When I finally reached the living room I almost wasn't surprised by the two figures sitting there.

Fintan turned his head and stared at me solemnly, for once his sunglasses were gone. His natural immunity to my power left him untouched. He didn't speak but simply turned his dark eyes back towards the frozen figure sitting beside him. Warren's head was turned toward his companion and his mouth was open, caught mid-sentence. I wiped the tears away from my reddened face and then slowly released my hold on time's flow.

Warren's sentence was finished, "That's her-" then he whipped his head around and saw me standing there. He had probably been frozen just as he'd heard the garage door close.

"That's me," I said softly in a slightly hoarse voice. All three of us just stayed frozen in our places as if my powers hadn't been released. The only tell-tale sign of life in the room was blinking.

"I have to tell Knight that I got home alright," I finally said and walked hurriedly to pick up the phone in the kitchen.

The telephone felt cold against my ear and cheek and I could hear the shaky breath I let out. My fingers shook slightly as I dialed the numbers. When I turned, waiting for Knight to pick up, Warren was standing there staring back at me. I didn't want to look at him so I turned away. Knight picked up a moment later, right as Warren put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's Lydia," I said, "Just wanted to let you know I'm home," a pause as he spoke, "Yes I'm fine…just tired," Warren turned me gently to face him but I stared stubbornly at the ground, "I'll probably just go to bed or catch up on my homework," his finger was under my chin pushing to make me look up, "Bye Knight," I finished hoarsely and placed the phone back on the holder.

"It's rude to interrupt someone when they're on the phone," I ventured, staring up at him.

"Yeah," he acknowledged in his typical low tone before lips and arms and bodies met in frenzied, discombobulated motion.

"Ow," I grimaced, "My ribs _are_ broken Warren."

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**AN: Thanks everyone for all the wonderful feedback. It is very much appreciated!**


	15. Last Letter

Chapter 14.

"I'm sorry," he finally said in a whispering tone.

"I know," I answered simply and smiled into his jacket before pulling away, "So I'm assuming you and Fintan didn't just come here to make sure we made up."

"No, I came to tell you something and Fintan volunteered to bring me since the house is being watched."

"So?" I tugged at the edges of his jacket absentmindedly, "Are we going to break up again?"

He put his hands on either side of my face, "Yes," he murmured, "Lydia I wanted to tell you that I'm joining the Ministry."

"Warren you can't."

"I have to. I'm going to work with them until I can bring down the whole organization. Those-"

I put a hand to his mouth, "But I can help you," I tugged again and looked down as my voice cracked, "Let me help you."

"I'm not going to be my father," his jaw clenched in determination, "I'm not going to let them hurt you or anyone else because of me," one hand pushed the hair away from my face roughly, "Don't you see?"

I tried not to pull away from him. "Yeah," I finally answered, knowing he wouldn't be swayed by anything I said.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Fintan's going to help…he's been working as a double agent with the Ministry since before my father joined."

Fintan cleared his throat and entered the kitchen with his sunglasses hanging from his front pocket, "I'll do my best to take care of him Lydia."

I couldn't argue with that statement. If Warren was Fintan's father than Fintan's very existence depended on how well he could take care of him. Warren meanwhile looked disgruntled at the statement, surmising that we thought he needed a babysitter.

"I know," I answered quickly and managed to pull away from Warren this time, "You guys should go before my dad and Shyla come home."

Warren nodded but Fintan stepped forward, "Lydia, I'm taking you somewhere tomorrow so be ready."

I furrowed my brow and didn't reply. This guy didn't realize when he was on thin ice with someone apparently. Of course, it would be kind of pointless to blame that on his parents.

I was suddenly enveloped in another embrace from Warren. He burrowed into my hair and inhaled as if he was going to say something more. Instead he pulled a way with a sardonic smile and misty eyes. It was the closest to tears I'd ever really seen him.

They were gone in a blinding white circle and I just stood staring almost shell-shocked. I let out a long shaky breath. _So much for long goodbyes, _I thought ironically as I opened the nearby freezer. I peeled off the lid of the chocolate ice cream and retrieved a spoon from the drawer.

Knight found me in front of the TV when he came home twenty minutes later. He adjusted his glasses and gently took the empty container and the spoon from my hands. I must have looked catatonic because he waved his hand in front of me with a concerned look on his face, "Lydia, you ok?"

"Yeah, just too much sugar probably."

He quirked an eyebrow…after all he was someone with the super ability of telling when somebody was truthful. Knight didn't press the issue just turned off the set and managed to get me onto my feet.

"Come on, let's get you to bed…"

000000000

Knight didn't stop his mothering the next morning either. Everyone else was asleep while I was contemplating whether leftover pizza or a bag of sour cream and cheddar flavored chips would be better for breakfast. My eating habits had apparently gone out the window along with any hope of a future relationship with Warren. I didn't hear my cousin approach, but almost yelped when he put a hand to my shoulder.

"Honestly Lyd," he said taking shutting the fridge door.

I winced at the nickname, "What?"

"You need to snap out of it," his voice grew firm, "Go outside, play some basketball or something ok?"

I rolled my eyes, "I don't need a babysi-"

"Yeah you don't, but you seem to need someone to keep you in line. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help," he adjusted his glasses nervously.

I gasped slightly, I knew he was right, "So I'm supposed to be happy that all of this is happening?"

"Lydia, I don't even know what "all of this" is because you haven't told me the whole story," there was hurt in the tone of voice he used, "I don't want to be insensitive, but unless you want to share the burden I can't do anything for you except give you a kick in the pants."

My almost black eyes met his brown eyes. The hard thing was that nobody would need Knight's power to tell that he was absolutely sincere. It made me angrier, but I couldn't debate the truth…that made me angrier still. I let a breath out and felt the familiar pain in my ribs.

"I'm sorry Knight…I know I can be a real self-obsessed jerk sometimes."

"Now you're just fishing for compliments," he answered with a quick smile, "If you don't want to tell me what's going on I understand…but you really need to just try and move on."

"Ok," I consented, ashamedly looking at the tiled floor.

Knight wrapped an arm around me in a half-hug, "Gosh you scare me when you act this way."

"When have I acted this way before?" I asked curiously.

His joking expression fell, "Well I suppose you wouldn't remember…in the other dimension, after Will tried to kill you and you guys broke up you acted pretty much the same way."

"Ah," I was sorry I had made him bring up that topic, "Well that's comforting, now I know exactly how beautifully I cope with trauma."

He laughed, "Yup. Now get out of here!" he slapped by back playfully, "I think the basketball is in the front closet."

"Fine, but it's so your fault if the doctor gets me in trouble for doing physical exercise."

I went to change out of my pajamas and into my long gym shorts and a t-shirt. I hurriedly pulled as much of my short hair as I could into a ponytail and grabbed the basketball from the front closet. I almost thought I could hear Knight laugh as I opened the front door and went out. It was still early morning and there was at least an hour before we had to go to school. I hoped not to disturb the neighbors from their own sleep as I dribbled the ball back and forth. There was something about the pattern that was immediately soothing; even if my aching body protested every movement.

"Nice shot," Fintan's voice sounded.

I whipped my head over to look at him, trying not to seem startled. I retrieved the ball and held it against my hip. Wiping loose hairs out of my face I cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly. "So…when you said we were going somewhere I didn't expect you to be talking about this early in the morning."

"Well it worked out with my schedule."

"Yeah," venom came into my words, "with your double agent, blowing up buildings and then working for the government schedule?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you," I glimpsed Warren's own stand-offish tone in Fintan's words.

"I've always wanted to use the, "yes, because I'm your mother line", now seems as good a time as any," I replied sarcastically. A sharp stabbing pain in my head made me wince, "Not now," I murmured softly and put my free hand to the spot.

"That happen a lot?" he seemed relieved to change the topic.

I nodded with clenched teeth, "Yeah, more lately."

"It's from your inter-dimensional travel. The memories from the other dimension take up space in your brain's filing system and your mind can't figure it out. You shouldn't technically have those memories, there's no time coordinates your mind can pin them to."

"Well that sounds like a bunch of-" another shooting pain made me stop mid-sentence.

"It's a bit confusing…the only real way to stop it is erasing the memories of the other dimension."

I glanced up with eyes wide, "I don't want to do that."

"Then you'll have to learn to deal with it," he adjusted his sunglasses, "You're pretty lucky, Knight has three years worth of inter-dimensional memories to place, you can imagine the headaches from that."

"But he never says anything about it," the pain began to subside.

Fintan shook his head, "No, I'm sure he doesn't," he paused, "Well we better be going, don't want to be late."

I smirked, "Isn't it impossible for you to be late if you don't want to be?"

He let a smile pass, "Maybe," and the white glowing oval appeared. I hoped inwardly that we wouldn't be going anywhere that shorts, a t-shirt and messy hair didn't pass.

"The Supervillian Permanent Lockdown Facility?" I exclaimed incredulously in a hoarse whisper.

"We have a scheduled visit with Baron Battle," Fintan said to the secretary calmly, "It should be listed and verified under the government arranged meetings?"

The young woman nodded, "Your identification card should work as a pass. Just make sure you signal the camera on your way through the third gate or the security system will kill you."

Fintan nodded nonchalantly while I gaped. He tilted his head to watch my expression and looked like he was suppressing a grin. This was his world, his type of game. The problem was the only thing I could concentrate on was the fact that I was going to be meeting with Warren's dad in a manner of minutes.

000000000

"Get into a fight?" the deep voice asked as hazel eyes took in my bruises.

I nodded awkwardly and let some pieces of my short reddish hair fall in front of one of the injuries. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled. It was painful to realize the smile was the same I'd seen on both Warren and Fintan's faces. How far my life had become entangled with that simple smile…

"Well," Baron cleared his throat, "I don't know what to tell you my dear," he folded his handcuffed hands on the white table, "Warren seems to have chosen his path already and there's little I can do to change what will happen, especially from within a prison cell."

I nodded, "I know…I just wanted to tell you what was going on with your son," Fintan hadn't yet volunteered his reason for bringing me here, "I wasn't expecting any miraculous revelations," I chuckled, "I suppose I just wanted to understand all that's happened."

"Sometimes, there is no understanding. All we can do is try our best to live not regretting the past. I spent the first three years in here thinking about what I might have changed. But, there's no changing history."

I glanced at Fintan with a rueful smile, "At least not without a drawn-out bureaucratic process."

"Sometimes," Fintan offered, "The past is best left as it is whether or not we understand its true significance."

"You mind if I add that to my book?" Baron asked hopefully, his dark eyes twinkling.

"No be my guest," Fintan answered with a smirk of his own. He had told me that Baron was working on a philosophical book. The thought amused me, but I supposed he had to do something with his spare time.

"Fintan told me you've been reading my letters," his tone was playfully accusing.

"Well," I blushed, "Warren actually gave them to me to read."

"It's alright, I just wondered if maybe you'd like to read the last one. It's actually the reason Fintan and I wanted to arrange this little meeting…so that you could hear the end and maybe share it with Warren if you have the chance."

I nodded and Baron fumbled in the only pocket on his yellow jumpsuit, "They let me keep it when I was put in here…and I've carried it with me ever since," the older man, curly brown hair now cut short, cleared his throat again before opening the correspondence.

_Hana,_

_It's done. The Commander stopped me, just like I thought he would and once the sentence is passed I'll have peace in a jail cell. I hope this doesn't sadden you…I'd never live with myself knowing I'd hurt you in anyway. So for now, this small moment, let's forget the past arguments, the hurt, the wounds and concentrate on important things. _

_It may sound false, but I've never been able to imagine a life that I'd trade this one for. My greatest dream was fulfilled when I met you and when Warren was born. You two are enough to make the past years seem like only unimportant seconds. I wish there was another word in the English language to express the way I feel about you both…love just doesn't quite seem to fit. All I know, is if I had to do it all over again to make sure you were both safe, I would. _

_I'm determined not to feel sorry for myself. The only sadness now is brought by the thought that you may never read this letter, may never hear from me again…that alone is almost too much to bear, but I will bear it. I've seen the future Hana, and it's beautiful, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren living free of any threats or shadows of evil…free to make up their own mind about what cause they will serve. It's a gorgeous picture. _

_All my love, All my being,_

_Baron_

I wiped at my eyes and glanced at Fintan. He had removed his sunglasses to subtly wipe at his own. I wondered if he'd ever heard or read the letter before. There was the line about seeing the future that made me ache with curiosity. Had Fintan shown him a glimpse? Baron simply folded the note and put it back in his pocket with a shaky smile. A thought came unbidden to my mind, maybe all of this, these strange tempests in time, were meant to be. Of course when your father can see the future, fate loses its magic. But for now, I had only one thing to concentrate on, and that was a plan to see Baron's dream fulfilled and the Ministry destroyed.

**The End**

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**AN: So? Sorry to have kept you all in suspense for so long! I posted this chapter without a lot of editing because I was excited about getting it up. I'll be going back through the whole story to edit within the week probably so that should take care of any glaring grammatical problems. Please tell me what you think! I'll be replying to all reviews from the last chapter and this chapter sometime this week as well!**

**Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews and feedback. I've been so blessed to have you all reading this story. I'm very thankful to have such wonderful reviewers! I hope this chapter served as some sort of thank you for all the great comments! (I put some more Knight in ;)**

**Finally, the answer to the question many of you are probably asking...Yes I do at some time plan on posting another story in this series. I'm not sure when that will be, but I wouldn't expect it any sooner than September unless a plot bunny lands in my lap. For now I'm taking a break from the Sky High fandom...but it won't be permanent I promise! I just need a break to concentrate on other things at the moment.**


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